ABSTRACT

Home automation (HA) is either a “smart” house or a supportive environment, which enables the patients to regain an active role in daily life. HA could allow people affected by Parkinson Disease (PD) to better manage their daily lives. This study aims to evaluate the effects of domotics on quality of life, and personal/social autonomy in PD patients. We enrolled 40 with PD undergoing neurorehabilitation, who were randomized into either the control (CG) or the experimental group (EG). Two different rehabilitative approaches were used: the CG was submitted to a traditional training, whilst the EG underwent HA training, in which the activities were carried out through the use of assistive technologies. In both the training, the exercises were performed in small samples of 3–5 patients. Results showed that both CG and EG had a significant improvement in global cognitive functioning, executive functions, and instrumental autonomy. However, only in the EG, we observed a significant increase in social adaptation, activities of daily living and quality of life. This pilot study suggests that HA training could be a useful tool for the rehabilitation of patients with PD, improving social and cognitive functioning, personal autonomy and quality of life.

摘要

家庭自动化 (HA) 既可以是“智能”房屋，也可以是支持性环境，使患者能够重新在日常生活中发挥积极作用。HA 可以让受帕金森病 (PD) 影响的人更好地管理他们的日常生活。本研究旨在评估 domotics 对 PD 患者生活质量和个人/社会自主权的影响。我们招募了 40 名接受神经康复的 PD，他们被随机分配到对照组 (CG) 或实验组 (EG)。使用了两种不同的康复方法：CG 接受了传统培训，而 EG 接受了 HA 培训，其中活动是通过使用辅助技术进行的。在这两次培训中，练习都是在 3-5 名患者的小样本中进行的。结果表明，CG 和 EG 在整体认知功能、执行功能和工具自主性方面都有显着改善。然而，仅在 EG，我们观察到社会适应、日常生活活动和生活质量显着增加。这项试点研究表明，HA 培训可以成为 PD 患者康复、改善社会和认知功能、个人自主权和生活质量的有用工具。