Innovations in Healthcare
Symposium addresses depression, anxiety in Parkinson's disease
11:20 a.m., Oct. 13, 2014--Jayne Gow undoubtedly wins the prize for traveling the farthest to attend the Evelyn Hayes Innovations in Healthcare Symposium at the University of Delaware on Thursday, Oct. 9.
A Parkinson’s nurse at the John Hunter Hospital in New South Wales, Australia, Gow attended the symposium as part of a multi-country tour to learn more about nurse-managed models of care.
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She was one of more than 125 clinicians, students, faculty, caregivers, and patients who attended the half-day event, which addressed the neuropsychiatric complications of Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Roseanne Dobkin, associate professor of psychiatry at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and an affiliate in The Parkinson’s Clinic at UD through a telehealth station, discussed screening, diagnosis, and treatment of depression and anxiety in people with PD.
Dobkin’s two-part presentation was augmented by a pair of Healthcare Theatre performances highlighting the “dos and don’ts” of improving mood in people with Parkinson’s using cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Played by actor Paul Weaver, “Howard,” a 66-year-old diagnosed with PD six years ago, shared his concerns about cognitive slowing and feelings of uselessness with various “therapists.” Attendees were invited to critique the “care” Howard received, first from theatre assistant professor Allan Carlsen and then from various members of the audience.
Developed by Carlsen and nursing instructor Amy Cowperthwait as an interprofessional training tool for health sciences students at UD, Healthcare Theatre has expanded and is now being used for workforce training and professional development. Its integration into conference programs complements more traditional presentations and invites audience participation.
“The Healthcare Theatre performances brought the content of the presentations to life,” Dobkin said. “Paul Weaver’s portrayal of ‘Howard’ was phenomenal and helped to enhance the attendees’ understanding of the neuropsychiatric features of Parkinson’s disease and the challenges inherent in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health concerns in neurological disorders.”
“The performances also underscored the importance of empathy, reflective listening, unconditional positive regard, and multidisciplinary collaboration in comprehensive patient-centered care,” she said.
Gow, the Australian nurse, stayed in Delaware for an extra day following the symposium to learn more about UD’s use of telehealth technology. “Our clinic is in a rural area, and many of our patients travel as much as four hours to come in,” she said. “Telehealth is becoming very big in Australia.”
The symposium was enabled by a generous donation from Evelyn Hayes, professor in the School of Nursing at UD. Hayes was introduced by state senator and nursing professor Bethany Hall-Long.
“Lyn is tireless in her efforts to take care of the vulnerable,” said Hall-Long. “She is all about those who don’t have a voice.”
Hayes is known for her work with children and youth, veterans, and older adults, and she has contributed to smoking cessation campaigns and public health efforts to combat chronic disease.
In welcoming the conference attendees, Kathleen Matt, dean of the College of Health Sciences at UD, said, “We know that the solutions to modern health care challenges will be multi-dimensional and will involve people from many disciplines. We also know how important it is to connect all of the pieces in health care, and we couldn’t do that without creative, energized, innovative people like Lyn.”
Hayes directed her donation to a symposium series on innovations in health care as an ongoing way to recognize the contributions of the Nurse Managed Health Center at UD’s Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus.
Article by Diane Kukich
Photos by Doug Baker