Parkinson’s Disease: Current Treatment Options

Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disease that is caused by a lack of dopamine. This lack of dopamine has many effects on a person’s body who has Parkinson’s Disease including loss of motor control, slowed movement (bradykinesia), changes in speech, impaired posture and balance, and muscle rigidity. The object of this paper is to explore some of the many different options for treatment of symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease that are currently available. There is not one over-arching treatment that can alleviate the symptoms that are caused by Parkinson’s Disease. However, if multiple treatments are used together, a patient who is diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease can live their life with not as strong symptoms and are able to regain their freedom that this disease has taken from them. One sentence summary: This paper explores a few of the many different pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options for Parkinson’s Disease

Management of social isolation and loneliness in Parkinson’s disease: Design principles

Persons with Parkinson’s disease (PwPs) may have difficulty participating in social activities due to motor and non-motor symptoms that may lead to social isolation and loneliness. This paper addresses how to manage social isolation and loneliness among PwPs using digital solutions. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have the potential to address social isolation and loneliness, but there are no current solutions that specifically target these issues among PwPs. In this paper, we present an ongoing project based on design science research (DSR) combined with a user-centered approach to identify challenges, requirements, and design objectives. The empirical work includes data from interviews and focus groups with PwPs and healthcare professionals. Based on the empirical material, we formulated design principles on identified challenges and requirements, which were instantiated into a high-fidelity prototype. This initial cycle serves as a foundation for ongoing improvements and evaluations in a continuous DSR process

Parkinson’s Disease Support Groups in Rural America: Barriers, Resources, and Opportunities

People with Parkinson’s disease who live in rural communities may lack information and support regarding their condition, compared to those in urban or suburban areas. For the study described herein, the researchers sought to gain a deeper understanding of support group experiences of rural Parkinson’s disease stakeholders through merging an interpretive phenomenological design with Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR). Using this merged approach, we collected qualitative data from five focus groups to gain a community perspective. The qualitative data was analyzed thematically, first, and then further explored for an overall essence. The theme, Support Group Benefits: Opportunities for Communication expounded upon the importance of support groups to Parkinson’s disease stakeholders. Barriers to Support Group Participation represented how the disease and the rural living conditions inhibited support group participation. Strategies to Improve Support Group Access demonstrated the different ways that the stakeholders had tried to overcome barriers and strengthen support groups. Notably, some participants discussed ways that support groups could increase their accessibility to more individuals with Parkinson’s living rurally so that they endured as a future resource. The themes and accessibility recommendations that emerged led the researchers to interpret the overall essence of this work as, experiencing support group benefits despite barriers, leaving a legacy

A Rapid Review of Internet Mediated Research Methods with People with Dementia: Practical, Technical and Ethical Considerations

Doing research with People with Dementia (PwD) can be challenging given that disease symptoms of anxiety, forgetfulness, and fluctuating mental capacity can make recruitment and data collection difficult. Once COVID-19 made face-to-face data collection impractical, using internet-based methods became an alternative option to continue with research. However, data collection with PwD over the internet requires strategies to observe, support, and enable them to engage with research, especially with qualitative approaches. Nine articles were selected via a decade rapid scoping review (undertaken March-June 2020) to identify qualitative online methods used with PwD and associated challenges. Methods used were online interviews, clinical assessment/telemedicine, and textual analysis from blogs, forum posts, and Tweets created by PwD. Practical challenges identified: the researchers’ limited ability to manage the physical and social environment. Technical challenges identified: the need for a high degree of technical support for participants prior and during data collection. Ethical challenges identified, negotiating confidentiality, obtaining valid informed consent, and ensuring data security. Implicit findings found related to how researchers perceived and treated online data retrieved from the internet and how the challenges mentioned in the included articles did not link to dementia symptoms

Providing Psychosocial support through Virtual Support Groups to Patients with Parkinson’s Disease and their Caregivers: A Scoping Review

Abstract Individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) may require substantial support, owing to the significant physical, cognitive, and psychological symptoms that are associated with the disease. Furthermore, caregivers of individuals with PD may struggle with the demands of their responsibilities, which can impact their quality of life and ability to participate in social activities. The purpose of this scoping review was to evaluate the factors associated with providing psychosocial support to individuals with PD and their caregivers through virtual support groups. We applied the scoping review methodology described by Arksey and O’Malley to the 15 articles identified within our literature search. Evidence suggests that virtual support groups provide similar experiences to in-person support groups, demonstrating that they can provide an effective form of support, particularly for individuals who have difficulty leaving their home (possibly due to symptom severity or mobility issues) or who are unable to locate suitable in-person resources in their geographical area. Thus, online support groups appear to serve as an effective form of social support for individuals with PD and their caregivers. The perceived level of benefit derived from online support groups is further influenced by factors such as age, group similarity, and disease severity. Overall, the use of virtual support groups may increase access to social support by addressing accessibility barriers and may be a particularly valuable adjunctive service for individuals living in rural areas, or for whom PD symptoms present mobility challenges

Forming Impressions on Computer-Mediated Healthcare Peer-Support Systems for Informal Caregivers

The rapid evolution of Information technology (IT) has seen its adoption during many aspects of our lives, including healthcare. Healthcare IT provides the public with access to governmental records, electronic health records, healthcare websites, internet-based medical consultation, and more recently, online peer-support portals. These peer-support portals, which are directed not only towards patients but also caregivers, have been found to be a source of informational and emotional support. In addition, for caregivers who cannot leave their loved ones to access in-person support groups, these online support portals are an important substitute. In these online peer-support portals, informal caregivers interact with one another, providing emotional and personal support, leading to a sense of camaraderie and thereby a social relationship. The contributions on these portals are voluntary, with some members contributing more often than others. The first study in this dissertation focuses on understanding the patterns of interaction between these top contributors, referred to here as peer patrons, and other informal caregivers in terms of the information they provide, and the unique characteristics of the top contributors based on these interactions. Several unique interaction patterns related to peer patrons were found along with information about how peer patrons contribute towards the coping mechanism of informal caregivers. Interface design implications based on these outcomes were discussed. With informal caregivers exchanging not only information and emotional content on online peer-support portals but also forming social relations, it is important to understand how these users form impressions of others based on the information they access. The possible consequences of following healthcare and medical advice posted on these portals further emphasize the need to understand how users form impressions of one another on these portals. The second study in this dissertation focuses on impression formation using profiles based on those of the peer patrons who were the focus of the previous study. This exploratory study brought to light the prominence of the comment content and the profile picture in forming impressions on these portals, thereby supporting literature regarding context effects on impression formation. The final chapter is an intervention-based study investigating factors leading to positive impression formation on online healthcare peer-support portals. It supported the findings from the previous study regarding the importance of comment and profile picture and suggested the use of other peer ratings to solidify impressions formed using the former two cues. Additionally, the contribution of this dissertation to the literature and the improvement of online healthcare peer-support portals is discussed

Anxiety in Parkinson’s Disease

Evidence shows that non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease are associated with reduced quality of life (QOL). Anxiety is one such symptom and it is highly prevalent among people with Parkinson’s (PwP). A systematic review, incorporating a meta-analysis, was undertaken to review the relationship between anxiety and QOL in PwP. By pooling data from 17 studies, the meta-analysis established that the relationship was strong (r = 0.53). Additionally, a review of regression data from 20 studies highlighted that anxiety predicted significant variance in participant QOL in all but two studies. Given the significance of anxiety highlighted in the review, it is important that the experience of anxiety among PwP is well understood. Research was therefore undertaken using a modified Nominal Group Technique to better characterise the ways in which anxiety is experienced by PwP. The range of anxiety experiences was broad, with some experiences representing generic anxiety experiences that are not unique to the Parkinson’s population. However, the majority of experiences related specifically to the symptoms of Parkinson’s or had the potential to be aggravated by them. Additional findings are reported relating to the existing approaches taken by our participants to manage their anxiety. Theoretical and clinical implications for all findings are discussed