Abstract

There is an abundance of evidence supporting the positive impact that physical, cognitive, and speech interventions have on improving or delaying motor and non-motor symptom progression of Parkinson's Disease (PD). Developing a program that fully encompasses the needs of the PD populations in rural states is imperative, especially with the growing number of PD patients throughout the United States. Cognitive training was implemented for one individual who had previously engaged in the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment program (LSVT Big and LSVT Loud) with the goal to utilize computer-based cognitive training with BrainHQ for at least 15-30 minutes per day for 4 weeks. BrainHQ tracks vital data points such as participant progress and time spent on cognitive training exercises that were recorded week to week on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. In addition, the Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) was administered by the investigator, serving as the pre-assessment to establish a baseline and post-assessment to identify cognitive improvement. The participant in this study was a 72 year old male, diagnosed with PD 11 years ago with a clinical classification of disease state as mild. He spent 27 days and 1,710 minutes utilizing BrainHQ with a total of 6,256 stars earned, 792 levels completed, and final activity quotient of 1,367 with a final percentile rank of 78. His pre-assessment MMSE score was 23 and his post-assessment MMSE score was 30. This project successfully addressed the cognitive deficits of PD as demonstrated by a 7 point improvement in MMSE score after the 4 week intervention period using BrainHQ for computer-based cognitive training.

Author Details

Ashley N. MacDonald BSN, DNP-FNP Student, RN

Sigma Membership

Non-member

Lead Author Affiliation

Nebraska Methodist College, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Type

DNP Capstone Project

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Quality Improvement

Research Approach

Pilot/Exploratory Study

Keywords:

Parkinson's Disease, Cognitive Training, Cognition, Memory, Brain Speed, Neurorehabilitation

Advisor

Hall, Lyndsi

Second Advisor

Kindschuh, Alice

Third Advisor

Robertson, Whitney

Degree

DNP

Degree Grantor

Nebraska Methodist College

Degree Year

2022

Rights Holder

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Review Type

Faculty Approved: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Self-submission

Full Text of Presentation

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