Prevention of Medical, Social, and Psychosocial Risks Following a Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis: A Pilot Study

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide, with a prevalence expected to double by 2040. The diagnosis of PD is often a shock for patients and their families, due to a lack of preparation and adequate support. Progress has been made with the establishment of Parkinson's disease expert centers (PDECs) and better-structured care pathways, but limitations remain. The needs of patients, their caregivers, and neurologists at the time of diagnosis were studied, leading to the development of a flexible, adaptable, and multidisciplinary home-based care pathway. This pathway includes multimodal communication tools (booklet and website) and can also be used by caregivers. The aim is to evaluate this pathway at the departmental level and its ability to prevent the medical, social, and psychosocial risks that complicate the care of patients newly diagnosed with PD. Thus, offering the patient, their caregiver and their neurologist a truly flexible and local care pathway built according to their needs, from the moment the disease is announced, could allow for better acceptance of the disease, an improvement in quality of life, the adoption of beneficial practices as well as a patient-caregiver therapeutic alliance with good adherence to drug and non-drug therapies.