Category: Allied Healthcare Professionals
Objective: Here, we explore the potential health benefits of using an online educational platform about compensation strategies for gait impairment in Parkinson’s disease (PD), in persons who have limited access to specialized healthcare.
Background: Dedicated use of compensation strategies has become an essential part of gait rehabilitation in PD, as conventional pharmacological treatment alone often proves to be insufficient in ameliorating gait deficits.
Method: This is a preliminary analysis. So far, 12 patients with PD and gait impairments who never received physiotherapy have been included. Participants were introduced to an online platform (https://www.radboudumc.nl/en/patientenzorg/aandoeningen/ziekte-van-parkinson/andando-com-parkinson) – accessible from a mobile device or desktop – which contains background information about gait impairment in PD in lay language (written and video), and focuses on the framework of seven distinct categories of compensation strategies to improve walking. Participants were instructed to try out the different compensation strategies they come across for a period of three weeks in their own home environment, accompanied by a partner, friend or family member (to prevent falls and related injuries). An at-home assessment was performed by a trained research assistant pre- and post-intervention. The primary outcome measure was the participant’s rating of the impact of gait impairment on their daily life (using a 10-point Likert scale).
Results: Pre-intervention, the impact of gait impairments on daily life activity as rated on a 10-point Likert scale was 6 (SD 2.7) and the number of strategies known and used was on average 1. Post-intervention, the impact of gait impairments was reduced to 5 (SD 2.7; p<0.083), and the number of strategies known and used increased to 7 (SD 4.4; p=0,000) and to 4 (SD 2.6; p<0.004).
Conclusion: Our preliminary results show the potential of online educational platform about compensation strategies to reduce to impact of gait impairments in underserved PD populations.
References: .
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
T. Capato, A. Tosserams, B. Bloem, J. Nonnekes. Online education to promote compensation strategies for gait impairments in underserved Parkinson populations [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2023; 38 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/online-education-to-promote-compensation-strategies-for-gait-impairments-in-underserved-parkinson-populations/. Accessed June 15, 2025.« Back to 2023 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/online-education-to-promote-compensation-strategies-for-gait-impairments-in-underserved-parkinson-populations/