Ambrosio, Leire

Background: Psychosocial adjustment to a complex and disabling long‐term condition like Parkinson´s disease is a complex, dynamic, cyclical and interactive process. Family caregivers, face multiple challenges that require a significant effort in terms of psychosocial adjustment, which must be considered by healthcare professionals in order to provide a holistic care.

Background: When living with one or more long term conditions (LTCs), both the patient and the family experience the impact of the condition at different levels. The family’s needs and perceptions should be considered in the process of caring for people with LTCs. The aim of this review is to understand “the process of living with LTCs” from a family perspective.

Aim: To evaluate the effects of a psychoeducational intervention compared with an education programme to strengthen quality of life, psychosocial adjustment, and coping in people with Parkinson's disease and their informal caregivers. Design: A quasi‐experimental study was performed with repeated measures at baseline, after the intervention and 6 months post‐intervention. Methods: The study was carried out at seven primary care centres from 2015‐2017.

Understanding how long-term illness affects quality of life for patients and families is central to providing individualised, patient-focused care in the community, as Leire Ambrosio and colleagues explain