Randomized Trial to Test the "Coordinated Care for Health Promotion and Activities in Parkinson's Disease" Intervention in the VA

Summary

Health care benefits and services are received through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), a component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Over 40,000 Veterans across the Veterans Health Administration are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD), a chronic condition that affects motor function as well as cognition, mood, sleep, and autonomic function. There are not enough subspecialists to manage every Veteran with Parkinson's disease. However, a care model of nurse care managers as catalysts and advocates using needs assessments, evidence-based protocols, and VHA and community access coordination mechanisms to optimize Parkinson's disease care may improve quality of Parkinson's disease care and patient-centered outcomes. If efficacious, this model may be practical to disseminate via an existing VHA national consortium network for Parkinson's disease.

Objectives are (1) to implement then analyze via a randomized controlled trial whether a nurse-led, coordinated care management intervention, Care Coordination for Health Promotion and Activities in Parkinson's Disease (CHAPS), compared to usual care will improve adherence to evidence-based practice guidelines and improve health outcomes in Veterans with Parkinson's disease in a region of the southwest United States, and (2) to analyze extent of implementation of the CHAPS intervention and its costs to determine how the intervention can be made sustainable and disseminated throughout Veterans Affairs Medical Centers if efficacious.

Conditions

• Parkinson Disease

Interventions

OTHER

Coordinated care management for Parkinson's disease

Nurse care managers will use standardized assessment tools and care coordination protocols to address unmet needs of Veterans with PD, and collaborate with these Veterans and their families, providers, and community partners to manage PD care.

OTHER

Educational handout

To minimize potential bias from participants' awareness of randomization arm assignment, the investigators will provide to all study participants (intervention arm and usual care arm) on enrollment a brief educational handout on Parkinson's disease that is available in the VA's "Healthwise for Life" handbook (page 273). This information includes a definition of PD, its symptoms, and several suggestions for managing PD such as medications and regular exercise.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• VA Office of Research and Development

  lead FED

Principal Investigators

• Karen Connor, PhD RN MBA · VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, West Los Angeles, CA

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2012-07-09

Primary Completion

2017-01-31

Completion

2017-04-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations