App motivates people with Parkinson's disease to move more
Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc) in Nijmegen is carrying out a study to see whether an app can motivate people with Parkinson's disease to move more. IJsfontein's goal is to get 500 people to take more steps over a one year period compared to their baseline measurement. For this purpose, they install an app on their phone that counts their steps and reminds them to move, making it easier and motivating them to make progress.
Carel, a study participant, says:
"Thanks to the app, I can better distribute my walking activities. Over the past ten weeks, I have taken 521,719 steps! A virtual walk from Nijmegen, via Tilburg, Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels to Valenciennes. I walk to the cheesemonger in the city center, the supermarket 2 kilometers away, and the library. It feels good; I walk away the negative burden from my mind, making room for positive things."
Previously, IJsfontein developed a virtual tour that participants cycled on their exercise bikes. With this, Bas Bloem, professor of neurology and principal investigator at Radboudumc, demonstrated that exercise has a positive impact on Parkinson's disease.
The pilot of the more recent study shows that the app motivates people with Parkinson's disease to move more. This enables Radboudumc to roll out the app worldwide, remotely.