Comparing dance and exercise for people with Parkinson's_v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Comparing the effects of dance and traditional exercise in (PD) patients and community dwelling older adults: A feasibility study
IRAS ID
243190
Contact name
Mihalis Doumas
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen's University Belfast
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 28 days
Research summary
This study will evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a randomized controlled trial to compare Dance for PD®, a specialized dance program already serving 1000s of individuals with Parkinson's worldwide, to another form of physical activity. The results of this study will inform a larger RCT that will evaluate the efficacy of Dance for PD(R) as a method for improving motor and non-motor symptoms in people with PD.
We will recruit thirty people with mild to moderate PD and 30 community dwelling older adults from Parkinson’s U.K., Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), and other local networks. Those who consent to taking part will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: Dance for PD® or Traditional Exercise. Both programs will be delivered at QUB's Physical Education Centre in 20 one-hour sessions that must be completed in 12 weeks (avg. of 2 classes per week). Feasibility will be measured by evaluating recruitment and safety, and acceptability will be measured by recording attendance/participation, enjoyment, and interest in continuing with the dance/exercise programs.
Additionally, we will ask participants to come to QUB's balance laboratory to complete assessments and questionnaires at three time points: before, immediately after, and 8 weeks after the conclusion of the interventions. This will allow us to test the suitability of our outcome measures for a larger RCT and to conduct a preliminary assessment of the effectiveness of the programs. Outcome measures will include motor symptom severity, balance, cognition, depression, fear of falling, and quality of life. Our control group of community dwelling older adults will complete all assessments apart from those specifically designed to assess PD patients. Subjective experience of the programs will also be evaluated using an Exit Questionnaire.
We hope this preliminary investigation will provide data that demonstrates that our protocol is safe and feasible for a larger, single-blind RCT.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/NE/0211
Date of REC Opinion
20 Jul 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion