The well-being and burden of caregiving for patients with Parkinson's disease

Filling the gap in service provision. Partners as family carers to people with Parkinson's disease: A Scandinavian perspective

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to explore the expectations of and experiences with the public healthcare system of domestic partners of people with Parkinson`s disease (PD) in Denmark and Norway.

METHODS

A qualitative exploratory design was applied. The sample consisted of 14 people from Denmark (n = 9) and Norway (n = 5) living with a partner with PD. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted between June and September 2020, digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach combining inductive and deductive approaches.

RESULTS

The main themes were 'negotiating systems of support' and 'balancing being both a partner and a family carer'. Partners take responsibility for the people with whom they live and attempt to fill gaps in the public healthcare system. The most frequently described needs were more information, service coordination as the illness progressed and acknowledgement of the complex role.

DISCUSSION

A recommendation for practice is recognition of the complex roles of partners to people with PD and reaching out to both regularly to determine needs. This may enhance the collaboration between partner carers, people with PD and healthcare providers, ensure sustainability of the system and optimise living with PD in the family.

Caregiver Burden in Parkinson Disease: A Scoping Review of the Literature from 2017-2022

Caregiver burden is a term that refers to the adverse effect of caregiving on the physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and financial well-being of the caregiver. Caregiver burden is associated with providing care to an individual with a chronic illness or disability, and the unique symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD) can amplify a patient's needs and reliance on others, leading to adverse outcomes for patients and their caregivers. In this scoping review of the literature from January 2017 through April 2022 that included 114 studies, we provide an updated, evidence-based summary of patient and caregiver-related factors that contribute to caregiver burden in PD. We also describe the impact of caregiver stress and burden on caregivers based on qualitative research studies and review recent interventions to mitigate burden. By providing clinical updates for practitioners, this review is designed to improve recognition of caregiver burden in the post-pandemic era and foster the development of targeted interventions to reduce caregiver burden in PD.

What is the relationship between health-related quality of life among scoliosis patients and their caregiver burden? A cross-sectional study in China

BACKGROUND

Caregivers play a vital role in the recovery of scoliosis patients, but limited studies evaluate the caregivers' HRQoL and burden in health care. This study aimed to explore the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of scoliosis patients and their caregivers, and identify the factors influencing caregiver burden in Eastern China.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2018 to January 2019 at the Shandong Provincial Hospital, Jinan, China. The HRQoL of scoliosis patients was measured by the Scoliosis Research Society-22r (SRS-22r), five-level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-5L) and Child Health Utility 9D (CHU9D). The caregivers' questionnaires consist of the EQ-5D-5L, WHO-five wellbeing index (WHO-5), 22-item Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI-22) and Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). Spearman correlation coefficients were used to estimate the relationship among caregivers' burden, social support, HRQoL, and SWB. Cohen's effect size (Cohen's d) was used to assess the ZBI-22 total score between different groups. Multiple stepwise hierarchical linear regression models were conducted to assess the associated factors of caregiver burden.

RESULTS

There were 59 scoliosis patients and their caregivers (n = 59) included in the analysis. The mean health state utility of adolescent scoliosis patients (n = 39) was 0.718 (95%CI: 0.654, 0.782) based on CHU9D and adult scoliosis patients (n = 20) was 0.663 (95%CI: 0.471, 0.855) based on EQ-5D-5L. The mean health state utility of male scoliosis patients (0.792/0.667) was higher than females (0.681/0.662) based on CHU9D and EQ-5D-5L (p > 0.05), respectively. The ZBI-22 total score of scoliosis patients' caregivers was 27.86 (SD: 20.59). Scoliosis patients' HRQoL was significantly inversely correlated with caregiver burden, and the HRQoL and subjective wellbeing (SWB) of caregivers were moderately and inversely correlated with caregiver burden. The regression results showed that the patients' age and caregivers' SWB were key characteristics associated with caregiver burden.

CONCLUSIONS

The caregiver burden of adolescent patients was higher than that of adult patients, and the satisfaction rate of adolescent scoliosis patients was higher than that of adult scoliosis patients. Improving the functional state of scoliosis patients and providing appropriate nursing practice education from health professionals would be necessary to effectively improve caregivers SWB and alleviate caregiver burden.

Supportive care of neurodegenerative patients

Neurodegenerative illnesses are notorious for paucity of treatments and relentless clinical progression. Illness may follow a relatively acute presentation, as is seen with primary brain tumors such as glioblastoma or have a more insidious onset with a slower yet unyielding course, such as that seen in Parkinson's disease. Though disparate in presentation, these neurodegenerative illnesses are universally terminal, and both the patients and their families benefit from the intervention of supportive care in conjunction with primary disease management. Supportive palliative care has been shown to improve quality of life, enhance patient outcomes, and often extend patient life-but such care needs to be tailored. This clinical commentary examines the role of supportive palliative care in the management of neurologic patients, comparing and contrasting glioblastoma patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease patients. Both patient populations are high utilizers of healthcare resources, require active management of multiple symptoms, and have high caregiver burden which underscores the need for supportive services in conjunction with disease management provided by the primary care team. Review of prognostication, patient and family communication, trust and relationship building, and complementary medicinal approaches are explored for these two diseases which broadly represent two differing poles of incurable neurological illness.