Knowledge of doctors in the management of the patients with Parkinson disease in the Republic of Moldova

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease with a great medical, economic and social impact in the world, including the Republic of Moldova. Extensive, up-to-date theoretical and practical knowledge of the doctor is strictly necessary for a more accurate and productive approach for both the patient and his family.Objective of the study. Analysis of the knowledge of neurologists in the management of patients with Parkinson’s disease in the Republic of Moldova. Material and methods. An observational study was conducted where doctors completed a questionnaire with 34 questions for 15 minutes. The results were statistically analyzed. Results. 105 questionnaires were completed, of which 72,4% are women, 27,6% are men, 82,9% are urban and 17,1% are rural. 92,4% do not have a scientific degree and 7,6% have a scientific degree. Of the total respondents, 57.1% said they know national and/or international guidelines/protocols for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. 79% mentioned that they know that patients with Parkinson’s disease require not only drug treatment but also non-drug management, and 56,2% know scales for measuring the severity of Parkinson’s disease. In the last 5 years 64,8% did not receive training on Parkinson’s disease management, and 35,2% benefited: 11,4% attended the training course in the country, 22,9% - training course abroad, 12,4% attended the national congress, 13,3% at the international congress, 21,9% participated in lessons organized by the professional society. However, a large percentage of respondents say they have insufficientknowledge to work effectively with patients with Parkinson’s disease in its early phase (46,7%), patients with Parkinson’s disease who have already developed motor complications (49,5%), patients with Parkinson’s disease and cognitive and behavioral disorders (47,6%). Of these, 75,2% responded that they need additional theoretical knowledge in the management of Parkinson’s disease patients, while 58,1% consider the lack of training/improvement in the field of movement disorders a major problem.Conclusions. The knowledge of neurologist doctors in the Republic of Moldova is considered by most of them insufficient. There is a strong need to broaden knowledge opportunities both nationally and internationally.