| Trial name or title |
The PD OT trial: A pilot randomised controlled trial of Occupational Therapy to optimise independence in Parkinson's disease. ISRCTN 27871743 |
| Methods |
|
| Participants |
50 patients with PD who have significant physical problems.
Inclusion criteria:
Idiopathic Parkinson's disease defined by the UK PDS Brain Bank Criteria.
The trial will focus on PD patients with Hoehn and Yahr stages II to IV.
Exclusion criteria:
Dementia (as usually defined clinically by the investigator) ‐ the patient must be capable of completing the self‐assessment forms
Received occupational therapy in last 2 years and/or physiotherapy in last year. |
| Interventions |
The 25 patients who are allocated at random to receive therapy will be visited at home by a qualified occupational therapist who will assess their needs and arrange for treatments, aids and adaptations as necessary. The 25 untreated patients will receive standard NHS care and occupational therapy will be deferred until after the end of the trial.
In broad terms, the 25 patients randomised to occupational therapy will receive 6 x 45 minute sessions over 2 months in their own home. This will include an initial assessment followed by occupational therapy interventions targeting functional independence and mobility goals identified in partnership with the participant. Aids and appliances will be supplied. The primary interventions will address activities of daily living, both self‐care and instrumental; mobility, indoor and outdoor; and home safety. These will include skills practice, feeding, dressing, toileting, domestic skills and shopping; transfer and mobility training; seating and wheelchair provision; aids and appliances provision; caregiver training; education and information; referral to other health care workers; and if appropriate, return/ maintenance at work. Where time allows, secondary interventions will address fatigue management, leisure therapy, continence, speech and communication interventions and relaxation techniques. |
| Outcomes |
Primary Outcome:
Nottingham Extended Activity of Daily Living Scale
Secondary Outcomes:
Rivermead Mobility Index
Patient completed version of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale ADL scale
Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire 39 (PDQ 39)
EuroQol‐5D (EQ‐5D)
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) |
| Starting date |
April 2005 |
| Contact information |
Trial Manager
Miss Alex Furmston
Department of Neurology
City Hospital
Dudley Road
Birmingham, B18 7QH
Tel: 0121 5075655/ 07799 430495
Email: a.t.furmston@bham.ac.uk |
| Notes |
Expected end date: December 2006 |
