title: [How Parkinson's disease patients recognize Parkinson's disease therapeutic guideline?].
abstract: The "Parkinson's disease (PD) therapeutic guideline 2002 (PGL)" was published by Societas Neurologica Japonica in Japan. The guideline, which is based on evidence-based medicine (EBM), is a good reference for making medical decisions. Although physicians recognize the usefulness of the guideline, it is unclear whether PD patients know of the its existence. We performed a survey of 42 PD patients to evaluate their thoughts on the guideline. Sixty-seven percent of the patients had no knowledge of the existence of the PGL. However, after informing them of the existence of the PGL, 93% of the patients welcomed its publication. Forty-three percent of the patients wanted to read the PGL, although they expressed reservation that the PGL might be difficult to understand. Ninety-five percent of the patients answered that they would read the PGL if an easy-to read explanation manual were provided. However, none of the patients wanted an excessively strict obedience to the PGL. Eighty-three percent of the patients wanted a flexible application of the PGL to their own therapy. The PGL seems to have been accepted by the patients. A plain-language explanation manual of the PGL for PD patients, if published, would be helpful to the patients' understanding of PD therapy and to building cooperation between patients and physicians.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Shingu Municipal Medical Center, Hachibuse 18-7, Shingu shi, Wakayama 647-0072, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hironishi
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nakanishi
authors.forename: Tomoyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kondo
mesh_terms: D032882:Comprehension; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D008297:Male; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires