Spousal Caregiving for Parkinson’s Disease: Life Changing Dynamics

Seibert Lab
St. Alphonsus Medical Center & Physician Research
Boise, ID

As an athlete I have always been interested in movement, and therefore, I chose to work with the clinical population to explore the psychological and physiological components of Parkinson’s disease (PD). To investigate how Parkinson’s symptoms impair wellbeing, I constructed, conducted, and analyzed in- person interviews and self-report questionnaires of persons with PD and their caregivers (CG). Additionally, I probed physiological attributes by examining medical charts and nocturnal polysomnograms. Data demonstrated persons with PD to have impaired sleep, which often exacerbated psychological and psychosocial health. Surprisingly, the reported quality of life by the caregiver wassimilar to those diagnosed with PD, which led our lab to begin advocating for education and support groups for caregivers. Another project focused an unorthodox intervention of improving symptomology through non-contact boxing. Once I wrote an Institutional Review Board protocol, I was able to gather and analyze preliminary data that demonstrated the program's efficacy in attenuating motor and non- motor symptoms. Working with the human population showed me how science truly changes lives and motivated me to have my work translate to the human population.

Poster presentation at Rocky Western Psychological Association Conference

Elora Williams, Colleen Poulton, Christian Zimmerman, MD, MBA, FACS,Pennie S. Seibert, Ph.D.