The Impact of a Diagnosis of Parkinson's on Work

Parkinson's disease leads to loss of employment on average within less than 10 years of disease onset and has been found to be associated with an increased absence from work. This combined with hospitalisation; use of secondary health services; drug usage; and caregivers needing to give up work contributed to the costs associated with the conditions. It has been estimated that early support for working age newly diagnosed would cost the government about 1.5 million Euro in the UK but might lead to a potential cost saving of over half a billion over 5 years.

The study will explore the impact of a Parkinson diagnosis on employment. The study will be survey based and will include demographic questions: age, age at diagnosis of PD, educational level, and Nationality; questions pertaining to employment type, history, and reasons for leaving if this happened; and also general health.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Parkinson Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Usual care

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 696

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Oxfordshire
    • Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, OX3 0SB
      • Oxford Brookes University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 99 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

A (European) community based convenience sample. The survey will be available to the European Parkinson's Disease Association (EPDA) network using the Members' forum and website and will be sign posted through ongoing Member Outreach communication channels.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Diagnosis of Parkinson

Exclusion Criteria:

None

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Parkinson's Diagnosis; Usual care	Other: Usual care; For this cross sectional survey, participants will be receiving usual care according to there health care systems

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Main occupation in the last 7 days	Questions asks: 'Which of these descriptions applies to your main occupation in the last seven days? and has the following options. 'In paid work (OR AWAY TEMPORARILY) (employee, self-employed, working for your family business) Unemployed and actively looking for a job Unemployed, wanting a job but not actively looking for a job Permanently sick or disabled In community or military service Doing housework, looking after children or other persons Retired In paid work (OR AWAY TEMPORARILY) (employee, self-employed, working for your family business) Unemployed and actively looking for a job Unemployed, wanting a job but not actively looking for a job Permanently sick or disabled In community or military service Doing housework, looking after children or other persons Retired Student	baseline only (cross sectional)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Type of Work	Questions asks: 'Which category would best describe your current main occupation or skill set?' Managers or directors Professionals Technicians and Associate Professionals Clerical Support Workers Services and Sales Workers Skilled Agricultural, Forestry, and Fishery Workers Craft and Related Trades Workers Plant and Machine Operators and Assemblers Elementary Occupations eg salespersons, domestic, helpers, porters Armed Forces Occupations	baseline only (cross sectional)
Symptom Severity-Distress	0-10 visual analogue scale (0 worst - 10 best)	baseline only (cross sectional)
Symptom Severity-Pain	0-10 visual analogue scale (0 worst - 10 best)	baseline only (cross sectional)
Symptom Severity-Fatigue	0-10 visual analogue scale (0 worst - 10 best)	baseline only (cross sectional)
Symptom Severity-Depression	0-10 visual analogue scale (0 worst - 10 best)	baseline only (cross sectional)
Symptom Severity-Anxiety	0-10 visual analogue scale (0 worst - 10 best)	baseline only (cross sectional)
Symptom Severity - Sleep	0-10 visual analogue scale (0 worst - 10 best)	baseline only (cross sectional)
Single Item Physical activity	Days per week of physical activity lasting 30 minutes or longer on a 0-7 integer scale	baseline only (cross sectional)
Single Item Diet	Portions of fruit and vegetables consume per day on a 0-5+ integer scale	baseline only (cross sectional)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Oxford Brookes University
• Collaborators: European Parkinson's Therapy Centre

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 11, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 4, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): November 4, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 4, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 4, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): April 8, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 3, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 2, 2020
• Last Verified: March 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: diagnosis; work; employment; early support
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Parkinsonian Disorders; Basal Ganglia Diseases; Movement Disorders; Synucleinopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Parkinson Disease
• Other Study ID Numbers: MOReS-EPTC-EPDA

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No