Improving community exercise provision in Parkinson’s

Abstract

<jats:sec><jats:title>Objective</jats:title><jats:p>To improve community-based exercise provision for people with Parkinson’s (PwP).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Background</jats:title><jats:p>Regular exercise of moderate-high intensity is beneficial to PwP, significantly reducing impact of symptoms and improving quality of life.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Aim</jats:title><jats:p>To increase exercise opportunity for PwP by:</jats:p><jats:list list-type="order"><jats:list-item><jats:p>Development, delivery and evaluation of a programme to increase community exercise providers’ knowledge and understanding of Parkinson’s disease (PD).</jats:p></jats:list-item><jats:list-item><jats:p>Development of a ‘tool kit’ to facilitate national dissemination of the course.</jats:p></jats:list-item></jats:list></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>Funding was achieved from Active Devon and Parkinson’s UK. Course content and evaluation methodology were developed by the PenPEN training co-ordinator (VE), and project team. The 3 hour pilot course was delivered in November 2017. A pre- and post-course questionnaire was administered to participants.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>25 Delegates attended the course, representing a range of activities including dance, swimming and football. 100% completed questionnaires. Evaluation demonstrated significant improvement in comfort communicating with PwP (p=0.002), understanding of PD and the benefits of exercise, and suggesting exercise to PwP (p&lt;0.001).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p>We have developed a means of increasing community exercise provision for PwP. Details of trained exercise providers are disseminated via clinics and Parkinson’s UK branches. An Exercise Provider Training Toolkit will be made available via the Parkinson’s Excellence Network.</jats:p></jats:sec>