Objective: To explore the knowledge, experiences and educational needs of healthcare and exercise professionals regarding Dual task Training (DTT) for People with PD.

Background: Dual task training (DTT) is rapidly growing in popularity for people with Parkinson Disease (PD), particularly in the management of gait and balance difficulties. With the proliferation of such practice with limited evidence, data regarding professionals’ educational needs are critical.

Method: We used a web-based survey directed towards exercise and healthcare professionals working with people with PD. The survey was distributed by email and various social media channels. The survey contained 22 questions regarding provider’ profession, practice setting, educational needs and challenges in applying DTT. The survey period was March 1st, 2020, until August 30th, 2020.

Results: There were 273 eligible responses from 8 countries, of which 64,5% were Physiotherapist, followed by 12,5% speech therapist and 11% occupational therapist. Participants worked primarily in outpatient setting (64.5%) and home health (26, 5%). 85.1% of the participants integrated DTT in their practice very frequently (43.9%) or frequently (40.2%), mostly in individual sessions (88.6%). This training was primarily applied to people in early stages (89.1%), and people with mild cognitive impairment (80.8%). Participants considered their knowledge regarding DTT for PD to be average (32.8%) or above average (26.7%). Participants considered that DDT is needed (63.6%) and all expressed interest to receive further training. The top 5 educational topics that participants felt were most needed were: examples of DTT in general (65.1%), research and evidence for its use (60.3%), dual task treatment strategies for balance (59.5%), gait (58.2%) and transfers (57.8%). The top 5 barriers identified to integrate DTT included: being able to stay creative and/or accessing new ideas (49.1%); lack of time to prepare materials and access new ideas (35.3%); lack of reliable tools for measuring gains (33.5%); lack of time in general (28.6%); and insufficient expertise (24.6%).

Conclusion: Our results highlight that professionals remain challenged to integrate DTT into PD clinical care mainly due to difficulties in accessing new ideas and lack of time. Tailored DTT for professionals is needed, focusing on their barriers and educational needs.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/dual-task-training-knowledge-experiences-and-educational-needs-of-healthcare-and-exercise-providers-in-parkinsons-disease/