Project Outline/Introduction 

Anxiety is experienced by 31% of people with Parkinson’s and negatively impacts both quality of life and health status. People with Parkinson’s identified research into the management of stress and anxiety as being their second highest priority in 2014. Yet, anxiety in Parkinson’s remains poorly characterised, under diagnosed and under treated. This program of research aims to address these research and clinical knowledge deficits.

Surveys will identify the character of Parkinson’s anxiety and create a model that can be helpful for therapists to tailor their interventions more effectively.

People with Parkinson’s will be surveyed to identify how they self-manage their anxiety.

All of this will inform the development of a program of interventions to address anxiety in Parkinson’s. These will be evaluated for their efficacy, safety, and acceptability.

Key research questions

  • What is the character of anxiety in Parkinson’s?
  • Can we create a model of anxiety in Parkinson’s to inform therapeutic interventions?
  • How do psychological concepts such as self-efficacy, perceived control and emotional regulation interact with anxiety in Parkinson’s?
  • What do people with Parkinson’s do to self-manage their anxiety?
  • Can we evaluate intervention(s) for anxiety in Parkinson’s taking into account all of the information from the prior research? Are they effective, safe, practical, and acceptable? Are they value for money?

Research Design and outputs 

A program of research examining anxiety in Parkinson’s.

It will include:

  • Surveys of the character of anxiety in Parkinson’s
  • Surveys and focus groups to identify the relationships between psychological concepts such as self-efficacy, perceived control and emotional regulation interact with anxiety in Parkinson’s
  • Surveys and focus groups to identify how people with Parkinson’s self-manage their anxiety.
  • Co-creation of interventions for the treatment of anxiety in Parkinson’s
  • Randomised controlled trials of interventions for the treatment of anxiety in Parkinson’s. These will include evaluations of their efficacy, safety, acceptability, practicality and cost effectiveness.

The research team

  • PI: Dr Katherine Deane, Senior Lecturer in Research, HSC UEA.
  • Dr Catherine Ford, Clinical Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, MED UEA
  • Dr Kim Bartholomew, Lecturer in Physical Education, EDU, UEA
  • Daniel Curran, Clinical Psychology Doctoral Student. MED UEA
  • Charlotte Irving-Curran, Clinical Psychology Doctoral Student, MED UEA
  • Dr Nicolo Zarotti, Clinical Psychology Doctoral Student, MED UEA

Funding

Funded by the UEA Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program