UCC research to focus on Parkinson’s and mental health

A new research project from UCC will focus on improving mental health care for people living with Parkinson’s disease.

[/url]Working with people affected by Parkinson’s as co-researchers, the team will translate its findings into practical resources. This will include a mental health assessment toolkit to support more accurate, consistent and person-centred mental health practice within movement disorder services.

The UCC research, under the Health Research Charities Ireland (HRCI) and the Health Research Board (HRB) joint funding scheme, will survey 200 people with Parkinson’s and their family carers, alongside interviews with people with Parkinson’s, carers and healthcare professionals.

The involvement of the co-funding charity, Parkinson’s Ireland, will also aim to ensure that the research remains grounded in the priorities and experiences of people affected by Parkinson’s.

Lead researcher, Dr Emma O’Shea, lecturer and researcher at the centre for gerontology and rehabilitation in the school of medicine at University College Cork (UCC), said people living with Parkinson’s have stated that mental health is one of the issues that matters to them.

“By bringing together people with Parkinson’s, families and healthcare professionals, our multi-institutional and interdisciplinary team hopes to develop practical tools that support earlier recognition of, and better care for, mental health difficulties.”