Developing psychological wellbeing support for patients with PD v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Developing psychological wellbeing support for patients with Parkinson's disease
IRAS ID
287012
Contact name
Breda Cullen
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Glasgow
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 30 days
Research summary
Title: What are the preferences of service users with Parkinson's disease for psychological support, and how can barriers to accessing this form of support be overcome?
Summary: Parkinson's disease is associated with high rates of depression and anxiety, for which group Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) may be an effective treatment. However, previous studies suggest that uptake of group CBT in this population is limited. In NHS Ayrshire & Arran, the Neuropsychology and Older Adult services offered a group CBT intervention to patients with Parkinson's disease, but also experienced similar problems with the engagement of service users.
The aim of this project is to gain a better understanding of the preferences of service users with Parkinson's disease for psychological support, and how barriers to participation can be overcome.
This will be done by conducting one-to-one semi-structured interviews over the phone or using Attend Anywhere for video calls with 10-12 service users aged 18 or over with Parkinson's disease in the NHS Ayrshire & Arran health board. Interview questions will cover topics such as content and format of psychological support, and barriers to participation. Framework analysis will be conducted on the resulting data to identify themes that emerge from the interviews, and participants will be given the option to check the results to see if they are in line with the views they expressed during the interviews.
Results from the interviews will be used to develop recommendations for providing psychological support for people with Parkinson's disease, and will be used to guide the development and delivery of psychological support in a local NHS service.
This research is being conducted as part of a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology degree, and funding for the research is provided by the programme.
Summary of Results:
Three factors were identified which influence people with PD when considering accessing support from psychological services: the perceived need for support, choosing whether to engage in support given a need has been identified, and the barriers to accessing support. Subthemes highlight the importance of providing support that is flexible, realistic and individually tailored to each person’s needs and preferences. Suggestions are also provided for overcoming barriers to accessing psychological support for this population such as providing information on available services and offering choice.Conclusions: Identified barriers to accessing psychological support were found to mirror those reported in previous research. The current study expands on previous findings through the identification of barriers regarding group psychological support and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as investigating preferences for the content and format of support, and exploring strategies to overcome barriers. The findings demonstrate the importance of increasing awareness of psychological services, improving service accessibility, and identifying the individual needs of patients with PD when delivering psychological support for wellbeing.
Lay summary of study results: Title: Developing psychological wellbeing support for patients with Parkinson's disease: A qualitative study of patients' preferences and barriers to participation.
Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with high rates of depression and anxiety, for which group talking therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) may be an effective treatment. Previous research has found that incorporating the preferences of patients into psychological treatment can increase the effectiveness of treatment and decrease dropout prior to treatment completion. There is currently limited research into the preferences of patients with PD for psychological support and potential barriers to taking part in this form of support.
Aims: The aim of this project was to gain a better understanding of the preferences of patients with PD for psychological support, and how barriers to participation can be overcome.
Methods: Patients with PD in one UK health board were invited to take part in the study. To take part participants were required to have a diagnosis of PD without dementia, be aged 18 or over, be fluent in English, have experienced difficulties with mental health, be able to consent to taking part, and be able to take part in an interview independently over phone or video call. Twelve adults with PD were recruited and one-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted. Interviews covered topics such as content and format of psychological support, and barriers to participation. Framework analysis was conducted to identify themes in the interview data, and two participants were invited to provide further reflections on results to increase credibility.
Main findings: Three factors were identified which influence people with PD when considering accessing support from psychological services: the perceived need for support, choosing whether to engage in support given a need has been identified, and the barriers to accessing support. Subthemes highlight the importance of providing support that is flexible, realistic and individually tailored to each person's needs and preferences. Suggestions are also provided for overcoming barriers to accessing psychological support for this population such as providing information on available services and offering choice.
Conclusions: Identified barriers to accessing psychological support were found to mirror those reported in previous research. The current study expands on previous findings through the identification of barriers regarding group psychological support and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as investigating preferences for the content and format of support, and exploring strategies to overcome barriers. The findings demonstrate the importance of increasing awareness of psychological services, improving service accessibility, and identifying the individual needs of patients with PD when delivering psychological support for wellbeing.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 4
REC reference
20/WS/0172
Date of REC Opinion
18 Jan 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion