Patient education for patients with Parkinson’s disease: A randomised controlled trial

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of the Patient Education Programme Parkinson (PEPP) in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in a randomized controlled trial and its sustainability after a 3-month follow-up.MethodsThirty-nine patients were allocated to the intervention group and participated in the 8-week PEPP. Thirty-four patients were assigned to the control group undergoing routine neurological care. Primary outcome was the Parkinson’s disease quality of life questionnaire (PDQ-39) measured at baseline, directly after the programme and at 3-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes assessed coping behavior, psychosocial strain, health-related quality of life (HrQoL), sense of coherence, self-efficacy, anxiety and depression.ResultsA significant effect for the intervention group on the PDQ-39 (p = .001) and on the active problem-oriented coping subscale of the Freiburg Coping with disease questionnaire (p = .027) was found at 3-month follow-up.ConclusionIn this study the PEPP improved disease-specific HrQoL and helped patients to cope with the disease.