Publisher
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Place of Publication
Chattanooga (Tenn.)
Abstract
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative condition affecting thousands of older adults in the United States (Poewe et al., 2017). It is characterized by a combination of motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms (NMS) (Bhat et al., 2018). The NMS of PD have the biggest impact on the individual’s quality of life, however, they are often dismissed by healthcare providers (Yilmaz et al., 2023).
The data for this exploratory study was collected via an online survey. Potential participants were required to work in healthcare treating patients with PD, be above the age of 18, and agree to a statement of informed consent. The survey consisted of 20 questions about place of work, years of experience, and habits related to treatment of patients’ NMS.
25 respondents completed the survey. 96% of participants are aware of PD related NMS but only 50% believe that their patients are aware of possible NMS. 64% of participants spend at least 20 minutes per visit discussing motor symptoms with patients, while only 22% of participants spend at least 20 minutes per visit discussing NMS. The majority of participants address NMS on an as-needed basis. 48% of participants reported that they lacked a protocol for addressing NMS.
Our results confirm that healthcare providers recognize the prevalence and negative impacts of NMS related to PD. However, there continues to be a gap in treatment of NMS. More research is needed to determine specific barriers to treatment of NMS and effective methods for clearly delineating each discipline’s role in treatment of PD.
Document Type
posters
Language
English
Rights
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Recommended Citation
Sturken, Sierra; Horchi, Hanna; Lawson, Mia; McDaniel, Ryan; and Olinger, Ivy, "Investigating Healthcare Provider Knowledge and Treatment of the Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease". ReSEARCH Dialogues Conference proceedings. https://scholar.utc.edu/research-dialogues/2024/Proceedings/6.
Investigating Healthcare Provider Knowledge and Treatment of the Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative condition affecting thousands of older adults in the United States (Poewe et al., 2017). It is characterized by a combination of motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms (NMS) (Bhat et al., 2018). The NMS of PD have the biggest impact on the individual’s quality of life, however, they are often dismissed by healthcare providers (Yilmaz et al., 2023).
The data for this exploratory study was collected via an online survey. Potential participants were required to work in healthcare treating patients with PD, be above the age of 18, and agree to a statement of informed consent. The survey consisted of 20 questions about place of work, years of experience, and habits related to treatment of patients’ NMS.
25 respondents completed the survey. 96% of participants are aware of PD related NMS but only 50% believe that their patients are aware of possible NMS. 64% of participants spend at least 20 minutes per visit discussing motor symptoms with patients, while only 22% of participants spend at least 20 minutes per visit discussing NMS. The majority of participants address NMS on an as-needed basis. 48% of participants reported that they lacked a protocol for addressing NMS.
Our results confirm that healthcare providers recognize the prevalence and negative impacts of NMS related to PD. However, there continues to be a gap in treatment of NMS. More research is needed to determine specific barriers to treatment of NMS and effective methods for clearly delineating each discipline’s role in treatment of PD.