BME Weekly Seminar Series-Rehabilitation for the Self-Management of Parkinsons Disease

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether rehabilitation that focuses on self-management of health helps to improve the day-to-day functioning and quality of life of community-living clients with Parkinson's disease (PD), beyond the effects of medical treatment alone. DESIGN: In a randomized controlled design, 120 participants were assigned to one of three conditions for a duration of 6 weeks: (I) medication only, (II) medication plus 2 outpatient group rehabilitation sessions and 1 social activity session per week, or (III) medication plus 2 outpatient group rehabilitation sessions and 1 home/community rehabilitation session per week. Rehabilitation occurred through integrated physical, occupational, and speech therapy services specialized to the self-management of health needs of people with PD. RESULTS: Compliance with treatment was 93% in the outpatient setting and 99% in the home setting. The first specific aim of the study was to determine if increasing "doses" of self-management rehabilitation (from Conditions I to II to III) resulted in increasingly positive quality of life outcomes. The results support this dose effect (F(1,111) = 5.96, p = .005). With increasing doses of rehabilitation, individuals experienced increasingly positive quality of life outcomes as measured by the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire- 39. DISCUSSION: These results are consistent with the findings from the meta-analyses and the previous randomized controlled trial conducted by our research group. The primary hypothesis of this study was supported: there was a linear increase in immediate post-intervention improvement in overall quality of life from optimal medication (Condition I) to the addition of18 hours of self-management rehabilitation (Condition II) to 27 hours of self-management rehabilitation (Condition III) administered over a six-week period. These effects were strongest immediately following intervention and persisted to a smaller degree at 6 months follow-up. For more information, please visit http://www.bu.edu/sargent/centers/research/neurorehab/team/index.shtmlThe seminar is simultaneously presented at UPS and HSC, and available via live Web Cast at:http://capture.usc.edu/college/Catalog/?cid=af180d48-ceff-42b9-a35c-eb199daed320Information about all seminars can be found at: http://bme.usc.edu/valero/seminar.htm

Location: HSC: B16 Basement of the Norris Medical Library ; UPC: Ahmanson Center for Biological Research (ACB)

Audiences: Faculty and Graduate Students

Contact: Toyicha Chisom