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The Parkinson's Active Living (PAL) Program
London C Butterfield1,2,3, Cynthia R Cimino1,4, Robert Salazar1,5
11 Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology
|March 2, 2017
Summary
The Parkinson's Active Living (PAL) program, a novel behavioral intervention, shows promise in reducing apathy and improving quality of life for Parkinson's disease patients. Pilot data suggest feasibility and efficacy, warranting further investigation.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Behavioral Science
- Gerontology
Background:
- Apathy is a common neuropsychiatric symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD).
- Apathy negatively impacts daily functioning, cognition, quality of life, and increases caregiver burden.
- Existing treatments for PD apathy are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of the Parkinson's Active Living (PAL) program.
- To provide the first behavioral treatment specifically designed to target apathy in Parkinson's disease patients.
- To reduce apathy in non-demented, highly apathetic Parkinson's disease patients using a telephone-based intervention.
Main Methods:
- A 1-arm pilot trial was conducted with participants aged 44-86 with elevated apathy (Apathy Evaluation Scale >35).
- The Parkinson's Active Living program is a 6-week telephone-based intervention using activity scheduling and monitoring.
- Participants were assessed at baseline, posttest, and 1-month follow-up.
Main Results:
- The PAL program demonstrated feasibility and acceptability.
- Significant medium to large effects were observed in reducing patient apathy and depression.
- Improvements in apathy and depression were maintained at 1-month follow-up, with positive impacts on quality of life.
Conclusions:
- The Parkinson's Active Living program shows potential as an effective non-pharmacological intervention for apathy in Parkinson's disease.
- Further research, including randomized controlled trials, is needed to confirm efficacy.
- The findings suggest a promising new avenue for managing neuropsychiatric symptoms in Parkinson's disease.
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