Research & Study Opportunities

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If you represent a research organization and would like to have your study promoted here, please email info@parkinsonsocialnetwork.org

One of the opportunities in our Parkinson’s community is participating in research studies. Scroll this page and look for bold headlines to denote each study.

Here are some research study opportunities you may find of interest:

Research Studies Happening at University of Virginia

Research Study Helps Family Caregivers PERSEVERE

PERSEVERE is a national study funded by the National Institutes of Health, led by Dr. Jori Fleisher at Rush University Medical, which is testing an educational program for family caregivers of people with Parkinson’s Disease who are experiencing changes in memory & thinking. PERSEVERE will test whether a disease-specific, caregiver-centered educational intervention improves caregiver knowledge, confidence, strain, and health outcomes – and whether it helps people living with Parkinson’s Disease, too.

Family caregivers will receive weekly educational guidance through a 12-week curriculum with resources and activities. All participation is virtual and scheduled when it works for you. There are no in-person visits and the person with Parkinson’s does not participate—just caregivers. Caregivers fill out online surveys and assessments at baseline and every two weeks throughout their involvement in the study, including a six-month follow-up period after the 12-week curriculum.

University of Virginia Caregiver Studies

We are enrolling for two different survey-based studies to help us understand how to better support caregivers of those with changes in their memory, thinking, or cognition. The surveys take around an hour to complete and ask participants to share information about their background, support needs, and mental health. Our goal is to use this information to build interventions that are better tailored to suit caregivers across different backgrounds, needs, delivery preferences, etc. Here are the details:

Study for Caregivers across different phases of adulthood:

Surveys are completed remotely online; the link to the study form is https://bit.ly/3xH8030
Participants are compensated $85 for completing the study surveys and an additional $95 if they are selected to join a 90-minute virtual focus group
This study is open to all adults, but we’re particularly seeking caregivers in the early and middle phases of adulthood

Study for Caregivers from different backgrounds:

Surveys are completed remotely online, the link to the study form is https://redcapsurvey.healthsystem.virginia.edu/surveys/?s=XWRL9NL7T774RAHJ
Participants are compensated $30 for completing the study surveys
Participants can complete an optional blood draw for an additional $55 compensation, though most caregivers who live farther from UVA forgo this portion

Physical Activity Study – University of Washington

Do you have Parkinson’s Disease? We are interested in your thoughts about physical activity! Take our online survey to enter a random drawing for a $50 gift certificate!

Email pdandphysicalhabits@gmail.com to register.
Six winners will be randomly selected from all participants who complete a survey. Click here to download the flyer.

University of Washington

TRUNK COMPLIANCE IN PD STUDY

Dr. James Thomas and researchers from the VCU Department of Physical Therapy are searching to better understand what causes stiffness and rigidness in Parkinson’s Disease and whether measuring stiffness can aid in understanding the progress of disease and its severity. We hope to use this as a new way to track improvements in function related to treatments focused on balance and trunk control.

What? Take part in a number of clinical tests designed to measure your health, cognition, trunk function, balance and stiffness, and undergo testing in a newly developed device to measure trunk stiffness.

Where? Appointments and testing are conducted at the Virginia Commonwealth University Motor Control Lab. Our location in downtown Richmond, VA has dedicated parking right outside for ease of access.

When? Participation in the study involves two 2.5 hour appointments.

Who is invited? Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease who have not had spinal surgery, or require an assistive device to move, or individuals to act as matched control participants.

Who we are? The VCU MCL are a team of research professionals and interns in the movement sciences field who have been selectively chosen and extensively trained.

To see if you qualify, visit:

https://redcap.vcu.edu/surveys/?s=YNJ9K7RAAYHYY47L

http://www.movr.vcu.edu/participate.html

Want more information? Contact Alexander Stamenkovic, PhD at mcl@vcu.edu or 804 299-6492

Thank you for helping us to develop better tools to promote movement and assist people living with Parkinson’s disease.

University of Virginia – Department of Neurology

Follow this link to see UVA’s listing of research studies for the Department of Neurology.

Virginia Commonwealth University

Follow this link to see VCU’s listing of Parkinson’s disease research studies.

Parkinson Social Network

Research & Study Opportunities

One of the opportunities in our Parkinson’s community is participating in research studies. Scroll this page and look for bold headlines to denote each study.