ENGAGE-PD
Implementing the ENGAGE-PD physical activity coaching intervention for individuals newly diagnosed with Parkinson's
Updates:
- The fellowship runs from April 2025 to July 2028
Background
Physical activity is movement where people use more energy than at rest. It can include active hobbies as well as more structured exercise. Coaching is a guided process supporting creation and achievement of personal goals.
There is a lot of research that suggests physical activity may help to slow down Parkinson's progression but that people with Parkinson's are less active than people the same age. Investigating therapy support to promote physical activity for people in early stages of Parkinson's is a research priority.
Parkinson's is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world. It is predicted that one in 37 people alive today will be diagnosed with Parkinson's. It can affect mobility and independence. As people with Parkinson's have such different symptoms and experiences, it is recommended they have an individualised, tailored approach to encourage physical activity.
Aims
Find out whether a coaching approach, called ENGAGE-PD, which provides 14 weeks of physiotherapist input with individualised, structured support to optimise physical activity, helps people recently diagnosed with Parkinson's to:
- Increase and maintain physical activity levels
- Feel more confident about doing physical activity.
We will also explore whether:
- People with Parkinson's find ENGAGE-PD useful
- Physiotherapists feel it is realistic and feasible to deliver ENGAGE-PD long-term as part of their NHS support
- ENGAGE-PD helps more than if people with Parkinson's just had usual NHS care.
If ENGAGE-PD is helpful to people recently diagnosed with Parkinson's and NHS services that support them, this could help service users to maintain activity levels, independence and self-management of their condition.
Design and methods
We will take the ENGAGE-PD approach, developed in the USA, and see how realistic it is to be adapted and delivered by physiotherapists in NHS services for people within five years of Parkinson's diagnosis. The study aims to determine whether it would be possible to undertake a future larger trial.
To do this, we will ask around 40 people with Parkinson's and/or their care partners to help with the co-design of the UK version of ENGAGE-PD, asking what they believe the most important things to try in the UK are. We will also ask around 40 healthcare professionals who provide Parkinson's rehabilitation services how easy the approach would be to use in their services.
Based on feedback, we will produce a version of ENGAGE-PD to test in a trial involving around 50 people recently diagnosed with Parkinson's. We will see whether it is possible to recruit, engage, and collect data from people for up to six months after they start the trial so we know if doing a bigger trial will be possible and needed. Results will be analysed at 15 weeks and six months after the trial starts.
We will measure how many people were recruited and how many dropped out. We will gather information on how much physical activity people with Parkinson's do, and how confident they are about taking part in physical activity, before and after the trial, as well as how many of the planned outcome measures were completed. We will ask physiotherapists involved in delivering ENGAGE-PD how easy it was to deliver and how/whether it could fit in with their current service delivery.
Patient and public involvement
Initial discussions and feedback from a Parkinson's Support Group in the South West of England influenced this project plan. We will work with a project advisory group of people with Parkinson's and/or their care partners who will advise on study information.
Dissemination
Findings will be presented to:
- Participants and contributors to the project design
- Local, regional and national Parkinson's UK groups and research networks (including people with Parkinson's, Parkinson's care partners, and healthcare and exercise professionals)
- Relevant scientific journals and newsletters.
Engage-PD
Faculty of Health