Objective: To develop an eHealth Physiotherapy Program (ePhysio) for remote health instruction to promote the quality of life (QOL) of people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in social isolation during and following the pandemic.

Background: PD is a neurodegenerative disease with motor and nonmotor symptoms [1], which impairs the activities of daily living (ADL), QOL, and functional independence [2,3,4,5]. In the COVID-19 pandemic, people with PD have been suffering the effects of limitations in their social life and practices essential to health, such as doing physiotherapy exercises. Hence, there is an increased risk of falls, physical functional lesions, anxiety, and depression – which reflect on the QOL [3,5]. An option to diminish the physical functional losses is the eHealth strategy [7] with technological resources [8], which promotes remote actions to follow-up the safe practice of ePhysio prescribed by the physiotherapist. The ePhysio also encourages self-care and the patient’s/family’s commitment [9] to improve the biopsychosocial QOL in PD, both during and following the pandemic [3,5].

Method: This study complies with the Brazilian ethical and health guidelines and the Declaration of Helsinki. It is divided into stages: (1) Development of the eHealth Physiotherapy Program (ePhysio); (2) Availability of the ePhysio and analysis of the resulting data. It is intended for people with PD of both sexes, aged 60 to 80 years old, in any of the Hoehn and Yahr stages, who have access to technology. The prescribed global ePhysio must be performed with the assistance of a relative/caregiver to ensure safety. The indicated physiotherapy exercises can be done on land and/or in the shower/bathtub/pool, according to each participant’s reality. It also provides educational digital pamphlets with tips on physiotherapy exercises, hydration, leisure, and care.

Results: Stage 1 has been concluded, whereas stage 2 is in its initial phase. The functional program (ePhysio) on mobility, balance, and gait [10,12,13,14] is expected to improve physical functional aspects in the QOL of people with PD.

Conclusion: Physiotherapy exercises are essential to control the typical symptoms and QOL in PD [11]. The ePhysio can remove barriers imposed by social distancing [5,6].

References: [1] REICH, SG; SAVITT, JM. Parkinson’s Disease. Medical Clinics of North America, v. 103, n. 2, p. 337–350, 2019. [2] CROWLEY, EK; NOLAN, YM; SULLIVAN, AM. Exercise as a therapeutic intervention for motor and non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease: Evidence from rodent models. Progress in Neurobiology, v. 172, n. October 2018, p. 2–22, 2019. [3] HALL, MFE; CHURCH, FC. Exercise for older adults improves the quality of life in Parkinson’s disease and potentially enhances the immune response to covid-19. Brain Sciences, v. 10, n. 9, p.1–17, 2020.[4] ORGANIZAÇÃO MUNDIAL DA SAÚDE (OMS – WHO). Modes of transmission of virus causing COVID-19: Implications for IPC precaution recommendations: Scientific brief, 29 March 2020. [5] GUO, D; HAN, B; LU, Y; LV, C; FANG, X; ZHANG, Z; LIU, Z; WANG, X. Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Quality of Life of Patients with Parkinson’s Disease. Parkinson’s Disease, 2020.[6]ROCHESTER, L et al. A Roadmap to Inform Development, Validation and Approval of Digital Mobility Outcomes: The Mobilise-D Approach. Digital Biomarkers, v. 4, n. 1, p. 13–27, 2020. [7] SHALASH, A et al. Adopting Virtual Visits for Parkinson’s Disease Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Developing Country. Frontiers in Neurology, v. 11, out. 2020. [8] WANNHEDEN, C et al. Como as pessoas com doença de Parkinson e profissionais de saúde desejam fazer parceria no tratamento usando eHealth: estudo de co-design. v. 22, n. 9, p. 1–11, 2020. [9] HELLQVIST, C et al. Effects of self-management education for persons with Parkinson’s disease and their care partners: A qualitative observational study in clinical care. Nursing and Health Sciences, v. 22, n. 3, p. 741–748, 2020. [10] AN, J; LEE, I; YI, Y. The Thermal Effects of Water Immersion on Health Outcomes: An Integrative Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health., v. 10;16, n.7, p. 1.208, April 2019. [11] ANDRADE, LS et al. Relationship between oxygen uptake, heart rate, and perceived effort in an aquatic incremental test in older women. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, v. 17, n. 22, p. 1–12, 2020. [12] GIARDINI, M et al. Instrumental or Physical-Exercise Rehabilitation of Balance Improves Both Balance and Gait in Parkinson’s Disease. Neural Plast, 2018. [13] ABURUB, A et al. Cardiopulmonary Function and Aerobic Exercise in Parkinson’s: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Mov Disord Clin Pract, v.7, n. 6, p.599-606, June 2020. [14] NI, M et al. Exercise Guidelines for Gait Function in Parkinson’s Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, v.132, n.10, p.872-886, 2018.

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