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‘I Think the Carer-Partner Dichotomy is Always Interesting’: Tensions in Health Professionals’ Engagement with Spousal Care givers of People with Parkinson's

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2016

Meredith Bolland ,
Andrew Guilfoyle  and
Romola S. Bucks
Meredith Bolland
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
Andrew Guilfoyle
Affiliation:
Centre for Psychological Research, Edith Cowan University, Crawley, Australia
Romola S. Bucks*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Associate Professor Romola Bucks, School of Psychology, The University of Western Australia (M304), 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009, Australia. Phone: +61 8 6488 3232, Fax: +61 8 6488 1006. E-mail: romola.bucks@uwa.edu.au
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Abstract

Background: The spousal care givers of people with Parkinson's (PwP) have unique, first-hand information that is invaluable in the effective management of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, there is a dearth of research that specifically focuses on health professionals’ experiences of engagement with the spousal care givers of PwP.

Methods: Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to describe and identify the meaning that health professionals working with PD (HPPs) gave to their engagement experiences with spousal care givers of PwP. Semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 12 HPPs were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed for emerging themes.

Results: Two major themes emerged from the interviews with HPPs: (i) the Philosophy of Care (PoC) is an Intrinsic Element in the Engagement Experience; and (ii) HPPs Expressed a Deep Appreciation of Partners’ Support of the PwP. HPPs experienced significant tensions and challenges in their engagements with the partners of PwP, as a result of the interaction between their lived reality and their PoC. They also appreciated greatly the caregiving provided by the partners. The insights gained have the potential to ease or resolve problematic tensions within the engagement process.

Keywords

Parkinson'scare giverpartnerhealth professionalsqualitativeinterpretive phenomenological analysis
Type
Articles
Information
Brain Impairment , Volume 17 , Issue 2: Themed issue on Stroke , September 2016 , pp. 171 - 181
Copyright
Copyright © Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment 2016 

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