Caring for Parkinson’s disease: response patterns of caregivers who are relatives of older adults

Abstract

This study analyzes the transition response patterns of family caregivers and their influence on the provision of care to older adults with Parkinson’s disease. It is an exploratory, descriptive and qualitative study carried out with 20 family caregivers of older adults with Parkinson’s disease. The results revealed that on the way out of the transition, family caregivers present the integration of the care routine in their personal lives and acceptthe health status of their family members through a positive view of the disease, using strategies to acquire skills related to the care of older adults suffering from Parkinson’s disease, acknowledging the role of a family caregiver. Interventions are needed to identify the specific concerns of family members in order to strengthen and ease the process of transition to exercising the role of caregiver, given the various changes in routine that Parkinson’s disease raises.