Capstone Pitch & Flyers

This project will comprise of producing and assessing a symptom management resource, for individuals with Young-onset Parkinson’s disease.

The aim of this project is to provide individuals with YOPD knowledge, resources, and interventions for symptom management techniques, a sense of autonomy over their care, and access to interventions via an online resource to improve their quality of life.

The intent is to broadcast these options globally to allow people in all countries opportunity to understand their symptoms and manage them using sound practices. The importance of this is profound, as diagnosis, treatment and management are viewed and provided very differently across our globe.

I have disseminated a comprehensive survey to individuals with Young-onset Parkinson’s disease to evaluate performance in various functional areas, including physical, cognitive, emotional, and social contexts.

 I have also evaluated quality of life and engagement in life roles within this needs assessment; the survey has determined the changes to quality of life and life roles due to motor, and non-motor symptoms of YOPD. Following the needs assessment, I am producing a symptom management resource, containing recommendations and interventions for the symptoms and experiences determined in the survey. Additionally, the information gathered will be distributed to clinicians for distribution of a booklet format of the symptom management resource to provide their patients.

The symptoms included within the symptom management resource will be based on reports from the needs assessment, and participant interviews to ensure the platform is population centered and relevant. Once the development of the resource is complete, it will be piloted to individual’s with YOPD with post-surveys of usability, and learning; it will also be piloted to medical professionals, including movement disorder specialists, neurologists, primary care physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners to assess their intention to distribute to their patients. 

The desired outcome of this project is that individuals with YOPD will have increased knowledge of self-help techniques, an increased knowledge of resources and interventions for self-managing their symptoms, an increased sense of autonomy over their care, and continued utilization of the interventions provided on the online learning site within their daily routines.

Global internet usage peaked in 2021 with 4.9 billion users; approximately two thirds of the world's population is online (Statista, 2023). Without regard to a person's physical location, the Internet has developed into a channel for interactions and collaborations between people, as well as a broadcasting and information-dissemination mechanism (Sadiku et al., 2021).

Access to electronic content as allowed for the dissemination of information and content to the general audience without regard to geography, transportation issues, and efficiency (Sadiku et al., 2021).