Abstract
The goal of this pilot study was to explore health benefits for couples participating together in an existing community-based self-management workshop for Parkinson’s disease (PD). A quasi-experimental two-wave design explored the effects of the Strive to Thrive program in comparison to a wait-list control condition. Preliminary data (n = 39 couples) showed that spouses in the intervention group had greater engagement in mental relaxation techniques at 7 weeks than those in the control condition (large effect size). Small effects were observed for increases in aerobic activity and mental relaxation for the adult with PD, increases in strength-based activities and self-efficacy for spouses, declines in depressive symptoms for spouses, and decreases in protective buffering for both adults with PD and spouses. The program showed potential for existing community-based programs to benefit couples living with chronic illness.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 881-889 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of Applied Gerontology |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 2021 |
Keywords
- Parkinson’s
- caregiving
- dyadic coping
- dyadic illness management
- dyads
- health behaviors
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Gerontology
- Geriatrics and Gerontology