KINGSTON, R.I. — Feb. 24, 2022 — Aiming to promote health and wellness among Rhode Islanders diagnosed and living with Parkinson’s disease, a University of Rhode Island College of Health Sciences study will examine the feasibility of establishing a comprehensive, interdisciplinary clinic to educate, advise and provide resources for patients.
The clinic will combine physical therapy, occupational therapy, nutrition, speech therapy, pharmacy, psychology and social work, providing accessible interdisciplinary services for Rhode Islanders diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, according to physical therapy Assistant Professor Christine Clarkin, the lead on the “Empower PD” study funded by a $25,000 grant from Advance-CTR.
“The goal is that it would be a boot camp-style clinic,” said Clarkin, who has also received separate grant funding this year to establish a student-led Parkinson’s exercise group. “Participants would be in the clinic for a half-day and get a comprehensive exam from everybody in those departments.”
Students and faculty members from the appropriate departments would meet with 10 participants in Kingston and 10 in Providence during the initial clinic, giving them a one-stop-shop for a comprehensive exam. The participants later return for one-on-one sessions with the student clinicians, who provide complete assessments and recommendations on nutrition, exercise, home modifications, lifestyle changes, therapy needs, and more. A pharmacy student might advise a participant to talk to their doctor about alternative medications; a nutritionist might recommend amendments to a participant’s diet; a physical therapy student may recommend a general balancing exercise plan.
“Or maybe we recommend they get a follow-up with their primary care physician for a physical therapy clinic referral,” Clarkin said, noting the clinicians will identify resources that are available to participants in the community. “The goal is not necessarily for us to provide the services, but to get them to engage in the community for follow-up services they may need.”
Students will follow up with participants through phone calls and virtual meetings one month and two months later to see how they are meeting the goals set in the initial evaluation, and, if necessary, advise them how to better achieve those goals.
“We want to empower them to become engaged in their own health care,” Clarkin said. “It’s more about giving them information and resources, in conjunction with our professional opinions, so that they can move forward independently within the community to engage where they most need to engage.”
The follow-up meetings will also give Clarkin a sense of the program’s success, with a goal of expanding it throughout the state, especially to areas where people are most underserved and may have difficulty traveling to campus. She is hoping this pilot program leads to additional funding from sources like the National Institutes of Health to establish a mobile clinic that would travel to areas where patients need the services most.
“If we are successful, it would give me preliminary data to pursue larger amounts of funding, so we can set up the clinic four times a year in four different locations throughout the state,” Clarkin said. “The overarching goal is to expand the clinic. I’d love for us to be able to offer this service to everyone in Rhode Island who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, so they can come in for a once-a-year tune-up and assessment. They already hopefully go see the neurologist or primary care physician. That doctor is going to do their own standardized testing, but we all know how quick those appointments are. There are lots of questions the doctor just doesn’t have time to get to.”
Clarkin is looking to recruit patients, potentially including participants in URI support groups such as the LOUD for Life program run by the Physical Therapy and Nutrition departments. She will also recruit through physicians, health clinics, senior housing complexes and YMCAs. She will hold focus groups with patients and professionals from each discipline to get feedback on the plan, with the goal of holding the initial clinic in late summer.
“I have big plans of what this could be. If this works for Parkinson’s, why not do it for MS, for example?” Clarkin said. “There are a lot of things we could do with this that will really benefit the state. We have all these disciplines at URI that can be resources to develop more clinical expertise in the area of neurodegenerative disease. Especially in an underserved community, people don’t always know what resources are available. They wouldn’t necessarily receive treatment with us, but they will learn what treatment to seek, and where to get it.”
Anyone interested in participating or who knows someone living with Parkinson’s disease who could benefit from the program is encouraged to contact Clarkin at chrisclarkin@uri.edu.