Publications by authors named "Masterson-Algar P"

Article Synopsis
  • People with Parkinson's disease often have speech problems, affecting how they talk and interact with others.
  • The PD COMM trial tested two types of therapy to help with these speech issues: one is called Lee Silverman Voice Treatment LOUD, and the other is regular speech therapy from the National Health Service.
  • The study took place in the UK and involved different groups of participants, comparing the effectiveness and cost of each therapy method against doing nothing.
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Objectives: To assess the clinical effectiveness of two speech and language therapy approaches versus no speech and language therapy for dysarthria in people with Parkinson's disease.

Design: Pragmatic, UK based, multicentre, three arm, parallel group, unblinded, randomised controlled trial.

Setting: The speech and language therapy interventions were delivered in outpatient or home settings between 26 September 2016 and 16 March 2020.

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Young dementia carers (YDCs) rarely receive appropriate training and support. Their visibility and identification remain dangerously low, and, consequently, support initiatives being developed are failing to reach them. This study explored the success (or failure) of YDC identification pathways as well as the barriers and enablers to their implementation.

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Young dementia carers need to be recognised and supported in their role. They need help to understand the illness, what changes are expected and how it can affect their family member. Many support services, partly due to the COVID pandemic, have moved online and have been shown to be acceptable as they are low cost and reduce access barriers.

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Introduction: In the UK, National Health Service (NHS) guidelines recommend that informal carers of people living with dementia should be offered training to help them develop care skills and manage their own physical and mental health. The WHO recommends access to affordable, proven, well-designed, online technologies for education, skills training and support for dementia carers. In response to these recommendations, this multisite randomised controlled trial (RCT) is the first study in the UK to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of an online support programme developed by the WHO called 'iSupport for dementia carers'.

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Strong evidence shows that exposure and engagement with the natural world not only improve human wellbeing but can also help promote environmentally friendly behaviors. Human-nature relationships are at the heart of global agendas promoted by international organizations including the World Health Organization's (WHO) "One Health" and the United Nations (UN) "Ocean Decade." These agendas demand collaborative multisector interdisciplinary efforts at local, national, and global levels.

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Introduction: Proximal femoral (hip) fracture is common, serious and costly. Rehabilitation may improve functional recovery but evidence of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness are lacking. An enhanced rehabilitation intervention was previously developed and a feasibility study tested the methods used for this randomised controlled trial (RCT).

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Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) affects approximately 145,519 people in the UK. Speech impairments are common with a reported prevalence of 68%, which increase physical and mental demands during conversation, reliance on family and/or carers, and the likelihood of social withdrawal reducing quality of life. In the UK, two approaches to Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) intervention are commonly available: National Health Service (NHS) SLT or Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT LOUD®).

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In this case study research, we investigated the impact that having a parent with a neurological condition can have on young adults' experiences of growing up and the nature of their support networks. The work was informed by models of interface of chronic conditions and the family. Stroke ( = 6), multiple sclerosis ( = 14), and dementia ( = 11) were selected as discrete cases.

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Background: Although in recent years there has been a strong increase in published research on theories (e.g. realist evaluation, normalization process theory) driving and guiding process evaluations of complex interventions, there is limited guidance to help rehabilitation researchers design and carry out process evaluations.

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Rebuilding one's life after stroke is a key priority persistently identified by patients yet professionally led interventions have little impact. This co-design study constructs and tests a novel peer-led coaching intervention to improve post-stroke leisure and general social participation. This study followed the principles of co-design by actively engaging and harnessing the knowledge of stroke survivors in order to develop and test a peer-lead coaching intervention.

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Article Synopsis
  • The PD COMM trial is a phase III study aimed at assessing the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of speech and language therapy approaches for individuals with Parkinson's disease who experience speech or voice difficulties, compared to no therapy.
  • It includes a process evaluation designed to understand the trial's implementation and how the interventions may work, guided by Normalization Process Theory.
  • The evaluation will utilize mixed methods, including interviews and other data collection, to explore therapists' and participants' experiences, ultimately aiming to identify which aspects of the interventions were most effective.
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Objective: To systematically review how process evaluations are currently designed, what methodologies are used and how are they developed alongside or within neurological rehabilitation trials.

Methods: This mixed-methods systematic review had two evidence streams: stream I, studies reporting process evaluations alongside neurorehabilitation trials research and stream II, methodological guidance on process evaluation design and methodology. A search strategy was designed for each evidence stream.

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Rationale, Aims And Objectives: This paper addresses the challenge of investigating fidelity in the implementation of a complex rehabilitation intervention designed to increase the level of independence in personal activities of daily living of stroke patients living in UK care homes. A programme theory of intervention fidelity was constructed to underpin a process evaluation running alongside a cluster randomized trial of the rehabilitation intervention.

Methods: The programme theory has been constructed drawing on principles of realist evaluation.

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