Parkinson Society British Columbia (PSBC) advocates for improved awareness and treatment options for the Parkinson's community in British Columbia. One element of our advocacy plan is expansion of the Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) program. DBS is a surgery that may be suitable for a small number of patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). The surgery has enabled people to live independently in their own homes for many more years than they would be otherwise able to; however, patients experience long wait times for the procedure due to funding limitations.
Recently, a decision was made by the BC Ministry of health to learn more about DBS and Duodopa gel for patients with advanced PD. As such, the Ministry of Health has partnered with health authorities to conduct the Health Technology Review (HTR) process to provide evidence-informed recommendations about which new non-drug health technologies (such as tools, devices, diagnostics and procedures) should be publicly provided in the province.
HTR is currently recruiting patients with advanced Parkinson's to participate in phone interviews and focus group sessions [download the recruitment flyer].
Subject requirements:
- Must be a resident of BC
- Must be proficient in speaking English
- Must be older than 19 years of age
- Comfortable with sharing experiences with advanced stage of PD
- People with advanced Parkinson's, carepartners and those who have had DBS are invited to participate
- Able to receive incoming calls within BC without any additional fees
More information about requirements and research format are available on PSBC's Research Recruitment page or in this Patient Voice Network form [download].
If you have any questions about this study, please contact Selva Bayat at the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation [selva.bayat@ubc.ca] or 604-875-4111 ext. 61732.
We kindly ask that all those interested in participating in this study respond by August 4, 2017.