Parkinson's disease physical therapy services during COVID-19: A phenomenological study

Objectives: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most rapidly increasing movement disorder globally. Physical therapies improve the motor and non-motor symptoms of PD. During the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth was the primary method of physical therapy service adaptation in response to restrictions preventing in-person therapy attendance. This study explores the perspectives of people with PD and their therapists who experienced physical therapy service delivery before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Melbourne, Australia.Methods: A phenomenological study that purposively recruited patients and therapists from a movement disorders service at an outer metropolitan rehabilitation hospital. Participants completed in-depth interviews, and data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.Results: Ten people with PD and five therapists completed interviews. Six themes were identified: patients value access to therapy, a key mechanism is trust, an opportunity to empower patients, ticking boxes for telehealth, contrasting experiences of telehealth and something is better than nothing.Conclusions: This study explored the experiences of people with PD and their therapists by contrasting their prepandemic and in-pandemic experiences. People with PD valued telehealth access during the pandemic, but extra support was initially required to use telehealth successfully. Empowering aspects of telehealth included patients learning new skills and self-management strategies from telehealth interactions with therapists. Therapists at this health service were motivated to continue with telehealth beyond the pandemic. Despite finding it challenging initially, they were surprised by how well people with PD managed telehealth using locally developed procedures based on clinical judgement and staff training that addressed patient safety while supporting people with PD to utilise telehealth.