The first study of its kind looking at the experiences of people with Parkinson's Disease living in residential care in England is to be carried out by a Bradford research team.

The Parkinson's Disease Society (PDS) has invested £60,000 to commission researchers at the University of Bradford to conduct an 18-month study, the findings of which will help improve the quality of care for people with Parkinson's living in residential care.

Parkinson's is a progressive neurological condition affecting movements such as walking, talking and writing.

The three main symptoms are tremor, muscular rigidity and slowness of movement, but it is a very individual condition and its rate and nature of progression varies from person to person, which makes planning care difficult.

The PDS wants to investigate how care is designed and what people's experiences of the residential care system are.

The findings will enable the society to campaign for improvements in care home standards and to provide better support and information to make caring for people with Parkinson's easier for care home managers and staff.

Gerry Armitage, who is seconded from the University of Bradford's School of Health Studies as senior research fellow to the Bradford Institute for Health at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, will be leading the study.

The research will involve interviews with people with Parkinson's and their relatives about how their residential and nursing care needs are being met.

This information will then be compared to the formal care planning process in their residence, gleaned from an in-depth review of relevant documentation and interviews with care home staff.

Mr Armitage said: "People with Parkinson's disease have changing needs that often demand considerable understanding. This research should provide an opportunity to have a close look at how these needs are being met and how their care is organised.

"Interviewing the person with Parkinson's where possible, as well as their closest relative - often their most experienced carer prior to being in residential care - and comparing their views with the care plan should provide us with some useful data.

"We hope the study will promote further learning for all those engaged in residential care and convince those specifically involved in Parkinson's care that the PDS and their research colleagues are beginning to shed more light on this. Research such as this may also provide a greater general insight into residential care."

Dr Kieran Breen, director of research and development for the Parkinson's Disease Society, said a recent survey found more than seven out of ten people identified improving understanding of Parkinson's among care home staff as a priority.

He said: "This research is a great opportunity for us to identify the key issues in care homes and to work with care home mangers and staff to discover how to provide the best possible level of care for people with Parkinson's."