Family Resilience in Family Carers of People with Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract

Objective: To clarify the family resilience in family carers of people with Parkinson’s disease.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 family carers and contents were analyzed qualitatively and descriptively.

Result: Family carers had hope even in adversity, dealt with difficulties with a [positiveness that is not affected by swaying symptoms] as their motivation, and could [flexibly draw out the power of the family] that they had cultivated while living together. Even if it was an intractable disease that was difficult for people around them to understand, they tried to [connect with people outside the family without creating a wall in the mind]. They identified a reasonable coping method for each family member [shared with the family on a daily basis even if the situation swayed due to symptoms], and responded to long-term medical treatment. Overcoming adversity, they became more confident and their [positiveness that is not affected by swaying symptoms] was further strengthened.

Conclusion: It was suggested that the family resilience shown in this study may contribute to reducing the burden on family carers and promoting mutual understanding among families.