Exploring public perceptions and awareness of Parkinson’s disease: A scoping review of the international literature

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurological
disease affecting around 1% of people above sixty years old. PD is
characterised by both motor and non-motor symptoms. As the
disease progresses, individuals are likely to lose their independence
and autonomy, subsequently affecting their quality of life. People
with PD should therefore be supported to live well within their
communities but there has been limited research regarding public
knowledge about PD.
Aim: The aim of this review is to explore public perceptions and
awareness of Parkinson’s Disease (PD).
Methods: A scoping review of the literature was conducted
following the PRISMA-ScR. Four electronic databases were
searched systematically (CINAHL Plus, Medline, PsycINFO and
IBSS). The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tools (JBI)
were used to assess the quality of primary studies.
Results: A total of 23 studies were included in the review
representing quantitative (N=12) and mixed methods approaches
(N=11).. Following narrative synthesis, three themes emerged from
the included studies. Theme one was about public knowledge of
symptoms, causes and treatments. This theme highlighted a
general lack of knowledge and understanding about PD
internationally. Theme two related to public attitudes towards PD.
This theme highlighted stigma the public often attached to PD and
their attitudes towards depression, isolation and loss of
independence in people living with PD. The final theme highlighted
a significant lack of empirically tested educational resources that
could be used to raise public awareness and understanding.
Conclusion: Findings from this novel review have indicated that
public awareness of PD is a growing area of interest. To our
knowledge, this is the first scoping review on this topic and review
findings have indicated that public knowledge and attitudes are
variable across the globe. The implications of this are that people
with PD are likely to be a marginalised group within their
communities, despite this being a common disease of older people.
Future research should focus on understanding the public
perception from the perspective of people with PD, the development
of interventions to promote public knowledge and attitude and
further high-quality research to gauge public perceptions of PD
internationally.