Mapping Parkinson's Disease needs and services in Ireland to inform service planning

There is evidence that Parkinson's disease (PD) is on the rise. The number of people living with Parkinson's in the world is set to double between 2015 and 2040. Despite this, there has not been enough investment made in healthcare services to improve care for people with Parkinson's in Ireland. Also, under-staffing can be a problem in these services and is sometimes below recommended levels. This can have negative effects on people with Parkinson's, in terms of their quality of life. It can also lead to more hospital admissions, which might have been avoided if services were better able to provide the right care and support.

Currently, we only have rough estimates of the number of people with Parkinson's in Ireland, which makes planning future services difficult. We also don't know the exact number of services currently available to people with Parkinson's, or what people with Parkinson's and their families think of these services.

For these reasons, we are carrying out research that will give us the information needed to improve PD services. There are three parts to this research project. Firstly, we will find out how many people are living with Parkinson's in Ireland, and the exact type and number of services available to them. This will likely show us that we do not have enough services, but importantly, it will also show us where additional services are needed. The final two parts of the research are about understanding what makes an 'excellent' PD service. We will be interviewing those involved in planning and providing healthcare, as well as people living with Parkinson's and their families. This will help us understand how we can improve services, so that they can best support people with Parkinson's in Ireland to live healthier and better quality lives, for as long as possible.

Award Date

01 July 2019

Award Value

€212,355.99

Principal Investigator

Dr Suzanne Timmons

Host Institution

University College Cork

Scheme

Patrick Quinn Awards for Parkinson's Research