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Summary

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There is strong evidence that increased exercise is associated with slower declines in mobility and quality of life among people with Parkinson’s. However, there are also several barriers to starting and maintaining exercise. Recent studies have shown that clinicians can use digital health technology and behavior change interventions to help people with Parkinson’s to increase their exercise. This project aims to facilitate digital health technology use into physical therapy (PT) practice for people with early Parkinson’s disease.

As part of the study we will develop, disseminate, and test strategies that can improve the use of digital health technology and behavior change interventions in PT and real-world practice. Below you will find several of these resources developed:

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Resources for People with Parkinson's

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Resource for Physical Therapists

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Preliminary Results

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BARRIERS & FACILITATORS

In the initial phase of study, we conducted interviews with people with Parkinson’s disease, physical therapists, and technology stakeholders. The purpose of this phase was to describe barriers and facilitators to using digital health technology in PT.

Results of the interviews suggest that clinicians should simplify digital health technology in PT to increase use by people with PD. Recommendations for PT include (1) identifying user-friendly features in apps, (2) gathering resources for both clinicians and patients, (3) using individualized approaches, and (4) engaging family, social, and clinical support.

The poster below depicts these results and provides some specific quotes from participants:

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IMPLEMENTATION FIDELITY

We wanted to explore how physical therapists (PTs) can use digital health technology (DHT) and behavior change approaches to help PwP meet exercise goals. We audited the initial session documentation of 30 historic control and 30 participants in the study. All of these sessions occurred in three outpatient rehabilitation clinics with individuals involved in the program for people with early stage Parkinson’s disease.

The PTs had 100% adherence to documenting self-reported baseline exercise for PwP. Implementation aimed to promote the use of DHT and a behavior change approach for exercise adherence in a group of PwP.  Implementation strategies included interactive training, facilitation, documentation guidance and clinical resources/education for use with patients.

Trained PTs were more likely to document DHT as a tool for exercise monitoring after training, especially smart phones, fitness apps and wearables. These PTs were also more likely to document detailed information regarding various types of exercise such as aerobic & strength training. See link to the poster for more information below.

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Additional KTEAM Projects

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Coming soon!