Objective: To investigate clinical experience, treatment practices, interprofessional collaboration among AHPs (allied health professionals) involved in people with Parkinson’s disease (PwP) care, prior to implementation of the ParkinsonNet Model.

Background: Multidisciplinary rehabilitation plays a central role in the management of PwP. Rehabilitation practices and the level of interprofessional collaboration may vary considerably across professionals. Understanding baseline practices is essential for developing targeted interventions.

Method: A cross-sectional pre-training online survey was administered to AHPs enrolled in the ACTION-PD project, funded by Transforming Health and Care Systems (THCS, FP-1356) European Partnership. The questionnaire collected data on professional background, experience with PwP, treatment patterns, and perceived interprofessional collaboration. A follow-up survey will be administered after course completion to assess changes.

Results: Sixty AHPs completed the survey, including physiotherapists (60%, n=36), occupational therapists (20%, n=12), and speech therapists (20%, n=12). Mean age was 37.6 years. Participants reported a mean professional experience of 13.8 years and a mean of 7.9 years specifically treating PwP. Respondents managed a mean of 23 PwP in the previous six months, while 12 professionals (20%) reported no previous experience treating PwP. Only 21% of respondents reported having received specific training in Parkinson’s disease (PD) rehabilitation. Treatment organization showed substantial variability in session frequency, duration, and treatment cycles. Overall job satisfaction related to PD rehabilitation was variable: 39.6 % reported being satisfied or fully satisfied, 47.9% moderately satisfied, and 12.5% poorly satisfied or unsatisfied. Also, nearly half of respondents (46.7%) reported never communicating with other AHPs about individual patient management.

Conclusion: AHPs involved in PD care report heterogeneous treatment practices, limited PD-specific training, and variable levels of multidisciplinary collaboration. Implementing an educational network-based model such as ParkinsonNet may contribute to improving coordination and promoting more standardized rehabilitation care. Results from the post-training survey will provide further insight into the impact of the intervention.

References: 1. Nijkrake MJ, Keus SH, Overeem S, et al. The ParkinsonNet concept: development, implementation and initial experience. Mov Disord. 2010;25(7):823-829. doi:10.1002/mds.22813
2. Nijkrake MJ, Keus SH, Oostendorp RA, et al. Allied health care in Parkinson’s disease: referral, consultation, and professional expertise. Mov Disord. 2009;24(2):282-286. doi:10.1002/mds.22377
3. Wensing M, van der Eijk M, Koetsenruijter J, Bloem BR, Munneke M, Faber M. Connectedness of healthcare professionals involved in the treatment of patients with Parkinson’s disease: a social networks study. Implement Sci. 2011;6:67. Published 2011 Jul 3. doi:10.1186/1748-5908-6-67
4. Sturkenboom IHWM, Talebi AH, Maas BR, de Vries NM, Darweesh SKL, Kalf JG. Specialized Allied Health Care for Parkinson’s Disease: State of the Art and Future Directions. J Parkinsons Dis. 2024;14(s1):S193-S207. doi:10.3233/JPD-230307

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/rehabilitation-practices-in-parkinsons-disease-in-rome-italy-insights-from-allied-health-professionals-priot-to-implementation-of-the-parkinsonnet-model-action-pd-project/