ParkinSong Online: protocol for a telehealth feasibility study of therapeutic group singing for people with Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: Parkinson's disease can be associated with speech deterioration and low communication confidence which in turn compromises social interaction. Therapeutic singing is an engaging method for combatting speech decline; however, face-to-face delivery can limit access to group singing. The aim of this study is to test the feasibility and acceptability of an online mode of delivery for a Parkinson's singing intervention (ParkinSong) as well as remote data collection procedures.
Methods and Analysis: This ParkinSong Online feasibility trial is a single-arm, pre-post study of online singing delivery and remote data collection for 30 people living with Parkinson's. The primary outcome measure is feasibility: recruitment, retention, attendance, safety, intervention fidelity, acceptability and associated costs. Secondary outcomes are speech (loudness, intelligibility, quality, communication-related quality of life) and wellbeing (apathy, depression, anxiety, stress, health-related quality of life). This mode of delivery aims to increase the accessibility of singing interventions.
Ethics and Dissemination: Ethics approval was obtained from The University of Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee (2021-14465-16053-3) and the trial has been prospectively registered. Results will be presented at national and international conferences, published in a peer-reviewed journal, and disseminated to the Parkinson's community, researchers and policymakers.
Trial Registration Number: ACTRN12621000940875.
Competing Interests: Competing interests: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at http://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/. Drs Tamplin, Baker, Sousa, Haines and Vogel receive institutional support from The University of Melbourne. Dr Tamplin is the current President of the Australian Music Therapy Association. Prof. Morris has a joint appointment with Healthscope and La Trobe University. Prof. Vogel is the chief science officer of Redenlab who provided the remote speech data collection software. Mrs Tull is employed by Fight Parkinson’s who are co-funding this research.
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