Date Presented 04/03/2025
Rural-dwelling individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) provided input to inform the development of a telehealth kit that serves to promote engagement in meaningful occupations and increase accessibility to OT in the home.
Primary Author and Speaker: Kristen A. Pickett
Additional Authors and Speakers: Sarah A. Zurawski, Kyra Neuser, Ashton Spritka, Paige Gresens, Jessica Schmidt, Annemarie Johnson, Stephanie Shoaf, Emily Neils, Anne Mortensen, Michael Egan
Contributing Authors: Megan Ramstack, Rachel Wilberding
PURPOSE: To better engage rural individuals with Parkinson disease (PD) in meaningful activities and promote accessible physical activity, the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) partnered with the UW-Madison Sensory Motor Integration Lab research team to create the Active-At-Home Initiative (AHI) Kit.
DESIGN: A qualitative, community engaged, quality improvement approach was used. Community partners were recruited by the APDA and through community-based outreach events.
METHODS: An AHI Kit prototype was sent to community members with PD and their caregivers who volunteered to trial the kit. Semi-structured virtual demonstration calls were scheduled. Feedback was gathered, synthesized and extracted into broad themes.
RESULTS: 14 rural-dwelling individuals with PD participated in the virtual demonstrations. 5 primary themes were identified: 1) some items require demonstration; 2) anticipation of item use as PD progresses; 3) general appreciation; 4) caregivers usage of items; and 5) variable usefulness of items. As informed by the feedback, the finalized AHI Kit will consist of 5 physical activity aids, 6 adaptive equipment items, and 14 educational resources.
CONCLUSION: OT has been called to address motor and non-motor symptoms impacting the quality of life for people with PD across all stages of the disease (Foster, Bedekar, & Tickle-Degnen, 2014). The AHI was developed with community partners, researchers and OTs to meaningfully address the needs of individuals with PD using a systematic telehealth approach (Little, Pickett, Proffitt, & Cason, 2021). The finalized AHI kit will be supplemented by 30 minutes of OT-led content, focused on use, activity modification and PD-specific education.
IMPACT STATEMENT: Involvement of community collaborators in the development of the AHI Kit was essential for including activities and approaches that are meaningful and relevant to remaining active and functional in their everyday lives.
References
Foster, E. R., Bedekar, M., & Tickle-Degnen, L. (2014). Systematic review of the effectiveness of occupational therapy-related interventions for people with Parkinson’s disease. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(1), 39–49. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2014.008706
Little, L. M., Pickett, K. A., Proffitt, R., & Cason, J. (2021). Keeping Pace With 21st Century Healthcare: A Framework for Telehealth Research, Practice, and Program Evaluation in Occupational Therapy. International journal of telerehabilitation, 13(1), e6379. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2021.6379
Tolosa, E., Garrido, A., Scholz, S. W., & Poewe, W. (2021). Challenges in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. The Lancet. Neurology, 20(5), 385–397. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(21)00030-2
