As the population ages, the risk of Parkinson’s disease and Parkinson’s Plus is expected to increase in the future. Primary guidance and information about movement disorders do not currently reach all individuals living with these conditions or their loved ones. In addition, the digital opportunities available for providing this primary information are not being utilised to their full potential.
Peer support is important for people with Parkinson’s disease and Parkinson’s Plus, as it can reduce loneliness, increase hope, and strengthen treatment adherence. Although peer support has increasingly moved to online platforms and mobile applications, these digital opportunities are still only partly utilised.
The main goal of the DiMod project is to enhance the primary information services for people with Parkinson’s disease and Parkinson’s Plus, as well as to strengthen peer‑support practices. The project aims to develop ways for individuals with Parkinson’s and Parkinson’s Plus—and their families—to access primary information and peer support digitally.
The expected impact
- Improved availability of reliable primary information that is accessible anytime, anywhere, and open to everyone.
- Enhanced digital peer support through the Toivo application.
- Enhanced guidance to initial information and peer‑support services.
Project´s work plan
We have organized a workshop to collect user feedback from the peersupport application Toivo.
We have collected data from the persons with Parkinson´s disease and Parkinson plus about the received primary information, primary information needs and how to develop digital primary information.
We have started to gather primary information material, planning the improved associations’ websites, producing the material for peer support (podcasts and videos), all aiming to pilot and finally complete the guidelines for health care professionals about digital primary information and peer support.
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