Living with Parkinson’s and the Emerging Role of Occupational Therapy

Abstract

Parkinson's disease is a chronic and increasingly complex condition, demanding multidisciplinary management. Over the last twenty years or so, alongside the growth of specialist services and healthcare teams specifically developed for people with Parkinson's, occupational therapy has grown in recognition as a treatment option, especially since evidence of its efficacy is now slowly emerging. The purpose of this work is to outline the role of occupational therapy clinical practice in the management of people living with Parkinson's disease and its emergent evidence base, combined with details of current occupational therapy philosophy and process, as applicable to occupational therapy practice for people with Parkinson's. The Canadian Practice Process Framework is used to structure this overview and was selected because it is a well-recognized, evidence-based tool used by occupational therapists and encompasses the core concepts of human occupation and person-centred practice. The framework employed allows the flexibility to reflect the pragmatic occupational therapy intervention process and so enables the illustration of the individually tailored approach required to accommodate to the complex pathology and personal, domestic, and social impacts, affecting the functioning of Parkinson's disease patients on a daily basis.

Occupational therapists' perceptions of psychosocial strategies for clients with Parkinson's disease

“…In this study, we found that occupational therapists reported goal setting as their most used strategy with clients living with PD, followed by a cluster of strategies, including social support, coping strategies, positive reinforcement, and relaxation. This finding is consistent with previous literature, which documents and encourages the use of these strategies by occupational therapists during practice with clients living with PD, as well as with clients experiencing multiple system atrophy, and various psychological disorders (Jansa & Aragon, ).…”

“…Research over the past two decades has increasingly provided support for the efficacy of occupational therapy in PD, and clients and healthcare professionals have consistently emphasized the value of occupational therapists in home and community‐based PD care (e.g. Jansa & Aragon, ; Jansa, Aragon, & Lundgren‐Nilsson, ). Furthermore, professional practice documents and national guidelines (in the Netherlands) have been developed to support occupational therapists in employing a wide range of interventions to address both the physical and psychosocial aspects of PD (Sturkenboom et al, ).…”

Physical therapy and occupational therapy in Parkinson's disease

“…As such, PT includes support for self-management and participation in movement related activities [48]. The occupational therapist focuses on enabling performance and engagement in meaningful activities and roles at home and in the community [7,[49][50][51]. These activities and roles can be classified in activities related to the home environment like self-care and functional mobility; work, either paid or unpaid; and leisure activities, for example shopping, visiting a restaurant or a theater [50].…”

Occupational Therapy for People with Early Parkinson’s Disease: A Retrospective Program Evaluation

“…Supplemental Material 2 provides a list of the typical evaluation and intervention items considered by the occupational therapist. Evidence-based OT treatments for PwEP primarily address self-management, functional independence, and meaningful occupations [ 11 , 16 ]. The lead occupational therapist informally trained another occupational therapist in this model of care.…”

“…Improvements in self-perceived performance were reported in one example of an individually tailored OT intervention for people across the stages of PD (62% of participants with Hoehn and Yahr stages 1-2) [ 15 ]. Early interventions in OT have been proposed to also address quality of life and health management for secondary prevention [ 16 ]. Although there is research supporting OT interventions [ 15 ], research regarding specific interventions in PwEP and research addressing barriers to health services for these individuals remain scarce [ 17 ].…”