Welcome to October!

That was a fast summer. I have been very busy working on Zoom with the WHO selecting the interventions from clinical practice guidelines and Cochrane Systematic Reviews, for rehabilitation treatment for people living with Parkinson. There are 30 people on the committee and the meetings take place, for me, very early in the morning. They are 2.5 hours in length which leave me exhausted for the rest of the day.

We have had 12 sessions to date and will start up again in November. It has been extremely interesting to hear from representatives around the world about how Parkinson is diagnosed and treated through rehabilitation. All agreed it is essential to have access to medicine and surgical treatments of DBS and Duodopa. It was also noted people do better when they are followed by a movement disorder specialist.

We then went on to Step 3, the selection of evidence-based rehabilitation interventions. The goal aims to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being at all ages”. Within this step a specific target calls for the achievement of Universal Health Coverage, defined as “all people receiving the full spectrum of quality health services (health promotion, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care) that meets their needs without being exposed to financial hardship in paying for the services. Our committee’s job is to address this in terms of rehabilitation services. Rehabilitation is a core health service for individuals throughout life. We will be identifying the rehabilitation interventions and prioritize them for integration into health systems.

I cannot help but think of our PWP community during these meetings. Krista and our programming committee are on track, in fact we are so much further ahead! During November our meetings will decide on what exercises and rehabilitation should be included. PWP has been using evidenced based exercises since inception. WE are leading the world in rehabilitation for Parkinson. This month PWP is offering Tai Chi. Tai Chi is an approved intervention. Tai Chi is beneficial for balance, cognitive function and memory. There is recent meta-analysis (2019) which shows a positive effect of Tai Chi on fall rates.

Check out the new schedule at PWP and try a Tai Chi class!

Jillian