We had an amazing day at the first Parkinson’s NEC-RIG Research Engagement Day in the North East in March 2023. 72 people affected by Parkinson’s attended and heard talks from Keynote Speakers Prof David Burn, Pro-Vice Chancellor at Newcastle University, and Caroline Rassell, Chief Executive Officer of Parkinson’s UK, in addition to eight “table talks” from world-leading researchers based in the North East of England. Speaker topics ranged from how blood tests can help spot Parkinson’s early to decreasing falls risks and clinical trials.

Before the Research Day, we asked people affected by Parkinson’s what research areas they would most like to hear and invited researchers in these areas to tell us about their research. We asked attendees what they thought of the speakers and the topics they talked about. The overall score for all speakers was 4/5, with almost all being rated as very good to excellent. In the comments sections, the talk on bloods in Parkinson’s by Dr Chris Morris was particularly popular, followed by falls prevention by Dr Alison Yarnall. The top highlights were:

1.    Excellent format, particularly the table talks

2.    Enjoying hearing about the detailed research findings

3.    Enjoyed hearing about blood tests as a potential marker for Parkinson’s

We also asked attendees what they thought about the organisation and venue, and what they would like to see at future events. The pre-event information and overall organisation on the day was generally found helpful and rated good to excellent. Staff were rated as excellent by over 60% of attendees, which is great to hear, and had dedicated volunteers on hand to help throughout the day.

The venue, including catering and sound, are areas for improvement in future events, and were rated fair-excellent. From the comments, particular areas of improvement were around more variety of food options, the room being a bit noisy, accessibility and toilets, and being nearer a train station. A small number of people said they were quite tired by the end of the day.

Overall, the first Parkinson’s NEC-RIG Research Engagement Day in the North East was a huge success with fantastic and positive feedback. We are thrilled that the local Parkinson’s community found the day interesting, informative, and enjoyable.

We want to incorporate some of the feedback to make the next event even better! The “table talk” format was particularly popular, although it could be difficult to hear at times. For future events, we will look at:

• Accessibility of the future venues we use, including toilets

• Venues nearer train stations

• Space in the room

• Fun ways to break up the day, such as a Q&A panel or short exercise breaks

• Ways to reduce noise

Check the Events page on this website or join our mailing list to hear about details of future events! We hope to see you at the next Engagement Day!