From understanding Parkinson’s disease to improving diagnosis, treatment and care TraPCAf brings together research across seven African countries to better understand Parkinson’s disease and develop practical approaches to diagnosis, treatment and care. Our work has nine key objectives:

Develop Diagnostic Tools

Develop practical diagnostic aids for non-specialist healthcare professionals, including questionnaires suited to LMIC settings and tools that measure slowness of movement and tremor.

Strengthen Healthcare Training

Train doctors, nurses, and therapists to improve the diagnosis and management of Parkinson’s disease.

Improve Diagnosis and Care

Develop and evaluate services that enable non-specialists to diagnose and manage Parkinson’s disease.

Understand Prevalence

Conduct community-based studies in Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya to understand how many people are living with Parkinson’s and evaluate different approaches to diagnosis.

Build a Clinical Database

Develop a database of people attending Parkinson’s outpatient services across participating countries to better understand their characteristics and experiences.

Investigate Treatment Options

Evaluate the effectiveness and side effects of preparations of Mucuna pruriens (MP) compared with levodopa, the standard drug treatment, in Tanzania.

Explore Home Monitoring

Assess responses to drug treatment using low-cost home monitoring and wearable movement sensors among people with Parkinson’s.

Understand Lived Experience

Work with people with Parkinson’s, carers and support groups to understand lived experience and raise public awareness through traditional and social media.

Contribute to Genetic Research

Collaborate with a large genetic research project, collecting blood and saliva samples for genetic analysis and stool samples for microbiome research.