title: Allied health care in Parkinson's disease: referral, consultation, and professional expertise.
abstract: There is evidence for the efficacy of allied health care in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, barriers exist that hamper implementation of evidence into daily practice. We conducted a survey to investigate: (1) to what extent PD patients currently utilize allied health care for relevant problems in the core areas of allied health care and (2) the level of PD-specific expertise among allied health professionals. Questionnaires were sent to 260 patients and 297 allied health professionals. Referral rates were 63% for physical therapy, 9% for occupational therapy, and 14% for speech therapy. PD patients with problems that can potentially be alleviated by input from allied health professionals are often not being referred. Furthermore, most patients were treated by allied health professionals who lacked PD-specific expertise. Current referral to and delivery of allied health care in PD are suboptimal. Evidence-based guidelines for allied health care in PD and active implementation of these guidelines are needed.
authors.affiliation: Parkinson Center Nijmegen, Department of Neurology, Donders Center for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Maarten J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Nijkrake
authors.forename: Samyra H J
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Keus
authors.forename: Rob A B
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Oostendorp
authors.forename: Sebastiaan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Overeem
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mulleners
authors.forename: Bastiaan R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Bloem
authors.forename: Marten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Munneke
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control; D000368:Aged; D000488:Allied Health Personnel / Q000193:education / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002983:Clinical Competence; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006704:Homemaker Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D013070:Speech Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires