Feasibility of a Trial Evaluating the Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy in Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is a complex disabling condition progressively affecting activities and participation of patients. Occupational Therapy aims to optimise functional performance and engagement in meaningful roles and activities. The lack of scientific evidence for the effectiveness of Occupational Therapy (OT) in Parkinson's Disease (PD) highlights the urgent need for high quality intervention studies. The recently developed Dutch clinical practice guideline for OT in PD offers a good basis for conducting an intervention study. This proposed pilot study is an important step towards setting up a large scale RCT to evaluate the effectiveness of OT in improving daily functioning of patients with PD and reducing caregivers' burden.