Engagement in exercise for people with Parkinson’s: What is meaningful?

Abstract

Whilst it is suggested that exercise is integral in the management of Parkinson’s, there is minimal literature exploring this population’s perceptions about exercise, and how these perceptions relate to standardised physical outcome measures. This mixed method study explored participants’ views on an exercise programme which was offered as part of an intervention in a randomised controlled trial for people with Parkinson’s. Participants in the intervention group (n = 21) received an exercise programme and a cognitive enrichment programme while the control group (n = 20) continued with usual care. Semi-structured, face to face, audio-recorded individual or group interviews were undertaken with the intervention group and data analysed thematically. Quantitative data extracted from the clinical trial included the 6 Minute Walk Test and the mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (mini-BESTest). The themes: ‘Having trust in professional guidance’, and ‘An understanding and supportive environment’ contributed to the overarching theme of ‘A sense of individual empowerment’. Together the themes demonstrated meaningful holistic benefits gained by participants, which differed from the non-statistically significant quantitative results from the clinical trial. Small group tailored exercise effectively addressed multiple cornerstones of health in people with Parkinson’s, creating an overall sense of individual empowerment. This study also suggests that research may overemphasise reporting of standardised physical outcomes to the detriment of what participants perceive as meaningful outcomes.