Objective: To work with those affected by Parkinson’s disease (PD) to co-produce a prototype of an instrumented application for reporting falls (iFall).

Background: Falls commonly occur in people with PD, which lead to reduced quality of life, increased caregiver burden and reduced independence [1]. Self-report falls diaries provide the current reference/gold standard methodology for capturing falls incidence in PD, providing a primary outcome measure utilised in randomized controlled trials [2]. Although gold standard, the current method of falls reporting requires a significant number of logistical resources and relies on retrospective reporting. That can lead to missing data and in turn, underestimation of falls frequency. Implementation of a falls-reporting application (App) for smart phones and tablets may lead to increased accuracy and reduced burden of reporting falls incidence.

Method: To co-produce this project, two people affected by Parkinson’s were recruited as co-researchers to work alongside clinical researchers, App developers, and a representative from Parkinson’s UK. The co-researchers have also supported the establishment and running of a project advisory group, comprised of five people affected by PD and carers. An initial advisory group meeting was held with all project partners to gain further understanding of requirements the app. Utilising feedback, the first iteration of the App was designed. Following this, the co-production team and patient advisory group met bi-monthly to discuss and provide feedback on further App design iterations.

Results: Following meetings with the project advisory group, the first prototype of the App has been completed. The prototype allows users to report either a fall or near-miss and provide details surrounding the event (e.g., date, location, cause, injury). In addition, the prototype allows users to download a report which collates falls incidence over the previous week, month, six months or 1 year. An ‘Involvement Diary’ was developed for the co-researchers to evaluate the process and impact of co-production throughout the project.

Conclusion: This co-production project has enabled the first prototype of a falls App (iFall) to be created with input from people affected by PD, their caregivers, and clinicians. Phase 2 of this study is currently ongoing to determine feasibility of the App in a larger cohort.

References: 1. Rahman, S., et al., Quality of life in Parkinson’s disease: the relative importance of the symptoms. Mov Disord, 2008. 23(10): p. 1428-34. 2. Hunter, H., et al., Longitudinal falls data in Parkinson’s disease: feasibility of fall diaries and effect of attrition. Disabil Rehabil, 2018. 40(19): p. 2236-2241.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/ifall-co-producing-an-instrumented-application-prototype-for-falls-reporting-in-parkinsons-disease/