Matching Mental Health Support to the Needs of People Affected by Parkinson's: Patient and Cost Benefits
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- University College, London
- Enrollment
- 138
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- PHQ-9
Study Overview
Brief 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.
This study will address this by developing 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 specialist interventions for three key mental health needs in Parkinson's, targeted at distinct stages:
- Adjusting to diagnosis; empowering people to feel more in control.
- Anxiety and/or depression; using cognitive-behavioural therapy techniques to improve mood, with particular focus on Parkinson's-specific concerns.
- Advanced Parkinson's; helping people with Parkinson's and those around them to improve management of memory and thinking problems.
The research team will design companion booklets for participants, summarizing each session. The treatment will be piloted for one year. If the interventions prove beneficial to participants and are cost-effective, the resources will be made immediately available to healthcare staff across the UK to improve access to specialist psychological services.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Na
- Intervention Model
- Sequential
- Primary Purpose
- Supportive Care
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to — (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- •Diagnosis of Parkinson's AND
- •within three years of diagnosis OR
- •anxiety/depression, as judged by scores above clinical cut-offs on standardized measures OR
- •developing Parkinson's-related cognitive impairment/hallucinations/delusions, but retaining capacity to consent, as judged by their medical consultant.
- •Aged 18 years and above
- •Sufficiently fluent in English
- •Able to give informed consent
- •Able to attend Queen Square for the intervention
- •Able to complete the self-report questionnaires
- •Exclusion Criterion:
- •Already participating in psychological therapy or research aimed at improving psychological wellbeing.
Exclusion Criteria
- Not provided
Arms & Interventions
Group-based psychological therapy
Intervention: Group-based psychological therapy (Behavioral)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
PHQ-9
Time Frame: Change in PHQ-9 scores after 8 weeks of intervention
Standardized measure of depression
GAD-7
Time Frame: Change in GAD-7 scores after 8 weeks of intervention
Standardized measure of anxiety
PDQ-39
Time Frame: Change in PDQ-39 scores after 8 weeks of intervention
Standardized measure of quality of life in Parkinson's disease
Brief-COPE
Time Frame: Change in Brief-COPE scores after 8 weeks of intervention
Standardized measure of coping
Secondary Outcomes
- Acceptability(Following the 8 weeks of intervention)
- Ease of delivery by non-experts(Following 8-weeks of intervention)
- Ease of delivery by non-expert(Following 8-weeks of intervention)
- Acceptability(Following the 8 week intervention)
- Healthcare resource use(Change in CSRI healthcare use after 8 weeks of intervention)