What is an NIHR Advanced Fellowship?

A research fellowship funds a researcher to undertake a research project, but it also supports the individual researcher to develop their skills on a personalised training programme. For my personalised training plan, I aim to develop more knowledge around running a clinical trial- this is a research study that tests whether an intervention, whether it be a medical drug or exercise programme works. To improve my knowledge around clinical trials I will be working with the Newcastle Clinical Trials Unit.

I will also improve my skills on qualitative research, this is where we work with talking to people and interpreting this data rather than working with numbers! Qualitative research is very important, it allows us to interpret the meaning behind the data we collect as well as work out what is important to those of you who are involved in the research that we do.

What is the research on?

The research aims to improve turning in people with Parkinson’s. Turning, either on the spot or during walking can be a major risk for falls in some people with Parkinson’s. Sadly, if a fall happens during turning, a person is much more likely to fracture their hip due to landing sideways. As Physiotherapists, we have some strategies we use to improve turning but we do not have much research to support the treatment we provide. This research is going to work alongside people with Parkinson’s, family members/carers and friends of people with Parkinson’s and Physiotherapists to design a new rehabilitation programme to improve turning and reduce falls.

During the project, we will work together to design a new intervention and then test it out during a clinical trial. In the clinical trial, we will recruit 70 people with Parkinson’s, some of whom will be asked to take part in the new rehabilitation programme to improve their turning, and hopefully reduce falls. In addition, this project will work to develop a smartphone application to report falls. The smartphone app will be designed alongside people affected by Parkinson’s, and we will use the app in the rehabilitation programme as an easier way to record the number of falls a participant may experience.

How will the research improve treatment for people with Parkinson’s?

I hope that the rehabilitation programme we design will provide new treatments for therapists to use to help people with their turning. As turning is a large risk factor for falls, anything we can do to reduce falls will be a big benefit to the Parkinson’s community. The app we are designing as part of the project may provide an excellent self-management tool for people with Parkinson’s, improving the ability to monitor and track falls and near-misses.

What role do people with Parkinson’s have in the project?