Mental health support for people affected by Parkinson's
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Matching mental health support to the needs of people affected by Parkinson's: patient and cost benefits
IRAS ID
324882
Contact name
Jennifer Foley
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2023/06/16 clinical research, UCL Data Protection Office
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
In addition to increasingly severe physical symptoms, Parkinson’s can cause distressing mental health issues. These include anxiety, depression, and memory and thinking problems, caused by a combination of biological and psychological factors. They can be more disabling than physical symptoms, reduce quality of life and increase risk of mortality. They are also upsetting for family members and unpaid carers, and may necessitate transfer to institutional care. They also increase NHS costs because of expensive hospital admissions. Despite this, there are few specialist mental health professionals or psychological interventions available to help people with Parkinson’s.
To address this, we will develop an effective programme of evidence-based psychological interventions for mental health issues in Parkinson’s that can be easily delivered by non- experts. Parkinson’s mental health specialists at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology will work with people affected by Parkinson’s and non-psychology health professionals to design group-based interventions for three key mental health needs in Parkinson’s, targeted at distinct stages:
1. Adjusting to diagnosis; empowering people to feel more in control.
2. Anxiety and/or depression; using cognitive-behavioural therapy techniques to improve mood, with particular focus on Parkinson’s-specific concerns.
3. Advanced Parkinson’s; helping people with Parkinson’s and their families to improve management of memory and thinking problems.
We will design companion booklets for participants, summarizing each session. The programme will be piloted for one year. If it proves beneficial to participants and is cost-effective, the resources will be made immediately available to healthcare staff across the UK to improve access to specialist psychological services.REC name
London - Brent Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0654
Date of REC Opinion
30 Aug 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion