The Santos Dumont Institute (ISD) will resume the Educa Parkinson project from April 19, a conversation circle created in 2018 to discuss the disease with the population.

The meetings, at the Institute's Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center (Anita), used to bring together around 25 to 40 participants, but were suspended at the beginning of 2020 due to the pandemic context.

Now, as a way of preventing Covid-19, the 100% editions will take place online, through the Google Meet platform. Registration is now open. Click here to access the form.

AWARENESS

The return of the project was announced today in allusion to Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month, with two key dates in April: National Parkinson's Day, observed on the 4th, and, this Sunday, April 11th, World Parkinson's Disease Awareness Day. On ISD's social media channels – @isdnarede – A series of publications are scheduled for the period in reference to awareness month. 

ISD is a Social Organization linked to the Ministry of Education and a reference in teaching, research, extension and assistance to the population in maternal and child health, people with disabilities, in neurosciences and neuroengineering.

Around 50 patients per month are treated at the Institute's Parkinson's clinic in Macaíba (RN), exclusively through the SUS. The disease is also the focus of research carried out at the Institution's units, Anita and the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neurosciences.

EDUCA PARKINSON

People diagnosed with Parkinson's, family members, caregivers, health professionals, researchers, students and anyone else interested in the topic, from anywhere in Brazil or the world, can participate in Educa Parkinson. Click here to access the registration form. The access link to the meeting will be sent later to the registered email or WhatsApp number.

Click below to access a video on ISD's Instagram profile with images of the live version of the project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this photo on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Instituto Santos Dumont (@isdnarede)

THEMES

The online version of the project will have as its central theme “People with Parkinson’s at home: making this time lighter and more functional”. Safe exercises at home and changes in the organization and structure of the house to facilitate daily activities are among the topics already scheduled. Lorenna Santiago, a physiotherapist at the ISD Parkinson’s clinic, explains that suggestions from participants about possible difficulties they face during the pandemic will be welcome and considered in the agenda.

“The project was discontinued in 2020,” she says, “but the need for exchange of information and experiences among people dealing with the disease continued and so the clinic’s team of professionals reformulated the project with themes focused on current needs.”

PARKINSON'S

Parkinson's disease is considered the second most common progressive neurodegenerative disease in the world, second only to Alzheimer's, according to the Ministry of Health. 

It affects body movements and can include, for example, slow movements, tremors, muscle stiffness, imbalance and speech changes. The disease can also cause decreased sense of smell, constipation, neurogenic bladder, cognitive changes and depression. According to the World Health Organization, 11% of the population over 65 years of age has the disease and the onset of motor symptoms usually occurs around the age of 60.