Abstract Details

Title Carepartner Communication on Parkinson Disease Psychosis

Topic Movement Disorders

Presentation(s) P1 - Poster Session 1 (12:00 PM-1:00 PM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 3-015

Objective

To characterize how carepartners of people with Parkinson disease (PD) communicate with physicians around psychosis

Background

Parkinson disease psychosis (PDP) is common in advanced disease. Carepartners may have difficulty communicating the needs of their partner to physicians. In this qualitative study, we sought to understand the ways carepartners communicate with providers around PDP and its treatments.

Design/Methods

Carepartners of people with PD were recruited using Fox Trial Finder, an online study-matching tool. Individuals who self-identified as a carepartner of a person with PDP were invited to participate in a semi-structured telephone interview. Data was analyzed using NVivo, a qualitative research platform.

Results There were nine participants in the telephone interviews. All were female; seven (78%) were spouses of a person with PDP while one was a sibling and one was an adult child. Mean age of participants (standard deviation, SD) was 61.4 (8.6) years; mean disease duration (SD) of their partner with PDP was 9.7 (5.7) years. Mean Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms for Parkinson Disease (SAPS-PD) (SD) was 10.7 (4.6). Five participants reported feeling “heard” by the physician. Important positive factors included open conversations and having a physician who seems personally invested in care. Three carepartners reported initiating the discussion around psychosis themselves. Five used tactics of discretion to avoid embarrassing the patient, including sending notes via the electronic medical record patient portal or speaking with the provider separately from the patient. Medications were felt to be a last resort if a patient were perceived as a danger to themselves or others; six participants expressed concerns about medication interactions and skepticism regarding efficacy of anti-psychosis medications.

Conclusions

Carepartners report a variety of techniques to relay concerns around PDP. Ongoing analysis will assess impact of PDP on carepartner health and generate additional interventions to improve the burden of care of PDP.

Authors/Disclosures
Sneha Mantri, MD, MS, FAAN PRESENTER	Dr. Mantri has received personal compensation for serving as an employee of Parkinson's Foundation. Dr. Mantri has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Abbvie. The institution of Dr. Mantri has received research support from The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson Research.
	No disclosure on file
Steven M. Albert, PhD, MSPH, FAAN (Univ of Pittsburgh/School of Public Hlth)	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
Catherine Kopil	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
Connie C. Marras, MD (Toronto Western Hospital)	Dr. Marras has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Neurocrine Biosciences. The institution of Dr. Marras has received research support from Theravance Inc. The institution of Dr. Marras has received research support from Centogene.
Lana Chahine, MD, FAAN	Dr. Chahine has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Gray Matters Technology. The institution of Dr. Chahine has received research support from UPMC. The institution of Dr. Chahine has received research support from MJFF. The institution of Dr. Chahine has received research support from Denali/Biogen. Dr. Chahine has received publishing royalties from a publication relating to health care.