Caregiver burden and the medical ethos

Ethical problems experienced by family caregivers of patient with schizophrenia: A hermeneutic phenomenological study

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to provide information on the ethical problems faced by family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia.

METHOD

This study was conducted using a hermeneutical approach to phenomenology. Data were obtained by means of an individual interview process using a semi-structured interview guide.

RESULTS

The results of this study revealed the following themes and sub-themes: higgledy-piggledy, walking on a thorny path, decision-making, subtheme, back of the mirror, victim, and dark well.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Expressed concerns have shown that caregivers not only face difficult challenges in the management of complicated and complicated illnesses, but also face ethical issues inherent in the role of caregivers and must take ethical decisions.

Caregiver Burden in Partners of Parkinsonian Patients with Deep Brain Stimulation

In Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, the progressive nature of the disease and the variability of disabling motor and non-motor symptoms contribute to the growing caregiver burden of PD partners and conflicts in their relationships. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) improves PD symptoms and patients’ quality of life but necessitates an intensified therapy optimization after DBS surgery. This review illuminates caregiver burden in the context of DBS, framing both pre- and postoperative aspects. We aim to provide an overview of perioperative factors influencing caregiver burden and wish to stimulate further recognition of caregiver burden of PD patients with DBS.

Bringing Advanced Therapies for Parkinson's Disease to the Clinic: An Analysis of Ethical Issues

Advanced therapies for Parkinson’s disease (PD) constitute a broad range of treatments, each presenting specific ethical challenges. Some of these therapies are established and in clinical use, like device-aided therapies, and others, based on advanced therapeutic medicinal products (ATMPs), are still in early stage of clinical trials. This paper focuses on some common ethical issues arising in these two categories of advanced therapies, especially challenges arising when advanced therapies are proposed to PD patients in the form of advanced care, under a clinical trial, or, in case of ATMPs, under the “hospital exemption” rule. The ethical issues covered here relate mainly to ensuring informed consent in these different contexts, to the stakeholder role of patient’s non-professional caretakers, such as family, and to patient safety in treatments under “hospital exemption”. To illustrate the points discussed in connection with “hospital exemption” rule, the example of the EU has been chosen. This paper does not claim completeness of ethical issues raised by bringing advanced therapies for PD to the clinic, but rather presents examples of ethical challenges in this context.

Caregiver Burden in Adults With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition that has a relapsing and remitting disease course. There is high degree of inpatient and outpatient health care utilization by IBD patients along with a great deal of psychosocial stress associated with the condition. Patients frequently rely on family, friends, and other informal caregivers to provide medical, instrumental, and emotional support. The role of caregiving for adult IBD patients can lead to significant caregiver burden. At present, there are limited data on the existence of caregiver burden in adult IBD patients. Moreover, there are no specific measures for evaluating caregiver burden and there are no interventions targeting caregiver burden in adults with IBD. This review outlines the limited available data on caregiver burden in IBD, explores caregiver burden in other chronic conditions, and proposes applications of these data for creating screening and assessment tools and interventions for caregiver burden in IBD.