BwP Research Project 1: Preliminary study of the impact of boxing as exercise therapy for Parkinson's by examining the relationship between a Boxer's perceived quality of life vs objective physical assessments.
BwP Research Project 2, the Impact of Structured Exercise Programs on Symptoms of Parkinson's as impacted by the Covidd-19 pandemic is in the study development and funding stage at this time.
BwPP is BwP's research arm to study of the impact and effectiveness of exercise, aerobic and neurobic, to reduce, reverse or delay the symptoms of Parkinson's. It is not a study of Parkinson's as a disease, causes of the disease or therapeutic treatments for the disease. Read PD Boxer Data is not perfect.
Most research projects start with a question and data is collected to examine that question. Typically, researchers control the subjects to be included in the study, the methods to be used, and the elements to be measured. BwP has a hybrid scenario where a pool of data exists, although inconsistent and incomplete, plus we will capture future data in real time via an app. The historic data pool goes back years so to whatever extent records exist meeting stated requirements, it can be very revealing and valuable. For two recent reports, from about 300 Boxers in the study, only 62 Boxers (21%) met the conditions required for the first report and only 72 Boxers (24%) met the conditions required for the second report. As the percentage of historical Boxer assessments from paper falls as a percentage of total assessments in the system, the number and percentage of qualifying Boxers for both reports will climb significantly. App-administered assessments are more complete with more reliable data. The best data quality will exist when there are hundreds or even thousands of Boxers who have been in the study for greater than 6 months and have at least 2 complete app-administered assessments.
Since its beginnings more than a decade ago, Rock Steady Boxing adopted several nationally recognized intake assessment and reassessment tools building a deep reservoir of information and data for thousands of Boxers. The packet of paper forms includes general information pages, pages for medications, health conditions and heart conditions, the PDQ-39 (3 pages), the Fullerton Advanced Balance battery of 10 physical tests (3 pages), the Timed-Up-and-Go and the Sit-to-Stand totaling 10 pages. This pool of intake and sporadic reassessments forms BwP's base of historical data.
As the Rock Steady program grew to 40,000+ boxers the pool of information grew. For years this information has been hidden in manila folders in gym filing cabinets around the country. Over 400,000 pages of valuable information that could not be sorted, filtered, counted, or analyzed.
While the BwPP is based on the nationally recognized assessment tools listed above, the BwPP database includes significant additional data fields, elements and modules with more enhancements to come in future releases. Analysis on Boxers where their data came from the paper forms will be less robust than assessments done using the app. Logistically, Boxer assessments prior to their gym joining BwP will be paper-based and limited. For RSB SKC in Washington, paper-based assessments went away July, 2019. For some RSB affiliates that might join BwP in the future, they may have paper-based assessments going into 2022 or even later.
Routine usage of the app for intake assessments and reassessments feeds the research database automatically and transparently in the background. Ongoing, BwPP members do not incur any additional workload to support the research project. They just go about the normal course of business with intake assessments for new Boxers and regularly scheduled reassessments.
The BwP research portal will have field suppression for personal information such as names, phone numbers, addresses, emails, etc. Boxers can opt-out of the research project at any time.
The research project will get more robust as hospitals, universities and Parkinson's foundations join with BwP. AS partners and with their guidance, BwP can enhance data elements, add features, conduct a poll and more.
Watch for announcements of future research projects. .
