Abstract
Objectives: Rehabilitation of inpatients with Parkinson's disease (PD) with occupational dysfunction associated with disease progression is important to prevent decreased quality of life (QOL) in the community. However, the factors associated with changes in QOL before and after hospitalization are not clear. The purpose of this study was to clarify changes in the QOL, occupational dysfunction, and apathy of inpatients with PD before and after hospitalization, and to identify factors associated with changes in QOL.
Methods: This prospective case series study included inpatients with PD for whom occupational therapy was prescribed. The assessment items included the 39-item Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), Classification and Assessment of Occupational Dysfunction (CAOD), and Apathy Scale (AS). These assessments were performed at the time of hospitalization and at 1 month post discharge. A generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) was used to identify factors of change in QOL.
Results: Twelve patients were included in the analysis (age, 75.3 ± 6.5 years; duration of illness, 56.2 ± 39.2 months; most common H&Y Stage, II and III) and all were discharged home. CAOD was a significant explanatory factor for change in QOL at hospitalization and 1 month after discharge (p = 0.034).
Conclusions: CAOD was demonstrated to be related to changes in the QOL of inpatients with PD. It was suggested that focusing on and supporting patients' occupational dysfunction contributes to their QOL in the community after discharge from hospital.
