Designing a screening battery for exercisers with Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Purpose

Develop a screening battery for persons with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) that is easily administered in a short amount of time by community exercise professionals and measures changes in function.

Methods

An integrated, stakeholder-engaged, mixed methods approach included interviews and meetings with community exercise professionals on the development of a screening battery. Persons with PD (n = 57, age = 72.1 ± 8.1 years) who were already enrolled in fitness classes or individualized training at three locations participated in the screening battery twice over 8–16 weeks and provided feedback. Trends from interviews and meeting notes were identified using summative content analysis. Quantitative changes in performance were compared with paired t-tests. Cohen’s d effect sizes were calculated for all significant differences.

Results

Current barriers for functional screenings included time and space. Using this feedback, we developed a screening battery that took under 20 min, required little equipment, had been previously validated, could be performed in individual and group settings, and provided objective feedback that was motivating for persons with PD to continue exercising. Persons with PD demonstrated improved functional performance on sit-to-stand (d = −0.71), two-minute walk test (d = −3.83), and arm curls (d = −0.78).

Conclusion

Test results can be a motivator for persons with PD and lead to increased exercise adherence. Easily administered tests can show improvements in this population. Community exercise professionals are able to safely screen persons with PD to detect functional deficits and assist with programming.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• Regular exercise can slow declines in physical function and quality of life in people with Parkinson’s disease.

• Use of physical assessments in community exercise programs can improve motivation to exercise for this population.

• Physical assessments such as sit-to-stand and arm curls can be used to demonstrate improvements in people with Parkinson’s disease.

Keywords:

• Fitness
• community exercise
• assessment
• functional tests
• disability

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflict of interests to disclose.