Pilot Study for the validation of the Psy-PD Rater-Administered Scale
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Validation of the Rater-Administered Psychosis Severity Scale of Parkinson’s disease (Psy-PD): A Novel Pilot Study
IRAS ID
229095
Contact name
Yi Min Wan
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 30 days
Research summary
This project aims to develop and test the psychometrics of a highly efficient, rapid evaluation scale for use in assessing change in psychotic symptoms in patients PD, while at the same time yielding comprehensive description of major symptom characteristics.
Currently there are no other studies that have tried to look at a PD-specific scale in evaluating the severity of both hallucinations and delusions in PD patients, and as such this is an original and novel piece of work.
Extant literature defined psychosis in Parkinson’s disease (PD) as a spectrum of specific symptoms which is common and associated with deteriorating quality of life, increased risk of dementia, nursing home placement and mortality. A reliable and valid clinician-administered instrument is required to assess the multiple dimensions of hallucinations and delusions in Parkinson’s disease psychosis, for a homogenous outline in research, and to examine the relationship of psychosis severity to treatment outcome and prognosis. This pilot study aims to develop a comprehensive tool that can be used at the bedside allowing movement disorder specialists to better address the patients’ specific needs.
The proposed tool investigates the clinical features of two core aspects of PD psychosis, specifically that of hallucinations and delusions. Its development will also take into account the weaknesses of current tests used. The new scale, called the Psy-PD, is derived from existing literature which incorporates semi-quantitative and qualitative information, differentiating patients with different symptoms and psychopathology severity. Its development will also take into account the weaknesses of current tests used. The current proposal is part of a 4-phase study which will aim to validate (using accepted methods) the use of the PSS-PD in people with Parkinson’s and normal healthy controls (required for any scale validation) to international and subsequent worldwide use.
REC name
London - Dulwich Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0383
Date of REC Opinion
19 Apr 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion