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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Contents Vol 25(2)

Increasing exercise with a mobile app in people with Parkinson’s disease: a pilot study

Jong Hyeon Ahn https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6415-2316 A B # , Dongrul Shin https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1750-7707 C # , Dongyeong Lee https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6093-3900 A B , Hye Young Kim https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0132-6550 B , Jinyoung Youn https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3350-5032 A B and Jin Whan Cho https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9145-6729 A B *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Neurology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06351, Republic of Korea.

B Neuroscience Center, Samsung Medical Center, 81 Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06351, Republic of Korea.

C Department of Urology, Asan Medical Center, Songpa-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

* Correspondence to: jinwhan.cho@samsung.com
# These authors contributed equally to this paper

Handling Editor: Suzanne Kuys

Brain Impairment 25, IB23061 https://doi.org/10.1071/IB23061
Submitted: 8 June 2023  Accepted: 4 February 2024  Published: 22 March 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Background

Exercise is crucial for the well-being of people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Although there are challenges to exercising with PD, mobile apps are seen as potential solutions, though their impact is not yet fully understood. We developed a mobile app and a home-based exercise program specialised for people with PD and investigated the effect of the mobile exercise app for the people with PD.

Methods

Participants from the Movement Disorder Clinic were prompted to download and actively use our app for a duration of 2 weeks. Before commencing, we assessed their self-rated smartphone proficiency. Both at the start and after the 2-week period, we employed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form and the PD Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39) to evaluate their physical activity and overall quality of life (QoL). Exercise metrics were quantified in terms of metabolic equivalent minutes per week (MET-min/week). Furthermore, we gathered feedback on user satisfaction with the app at the end of the study.

Results

Out of 41 recruited patients, 25 completed the 2-week program and 16 dropped out. Median MET-min/week rose from 1386.0 to 3210.0 (P = 0.009), primarily in moderate activities (P = 0.049) and walking (P = 0.002). Median PDQ-39 scores showed improvement from 17.2 to 8.5 (P = 0.005) after the program.

Conclusion

The mobile app holds potential to enhance exercise and QoL for people with PD. For optimal benefits, future studies should focus on e-health literacy education, app quality enhancements, and a broader exercise program variety.

Keywords: application, COVID-19, digital healthcare, exercise, mobile app, motivation, Parkinson’s disease, remote exercise.

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