Effect of Implementing Family-Centered Empowerment Model on Burden of Care in Caregivers of the Elderly with Parkinson's Disease

Caring for a patient with Parkinson's disease (PD) imposes a high burden of care on caregivers due to its chronic and progressive nature. Implementation of an empowerment program leads to self-control and adoption of preventive behaviors. This study investigated the effect of a family-centered empowerment model on the burden of care among the caregivers of the elderly with PD. The present randomized controlled clinical trial was performed on 60 caregivers and elderly people with PD referring to the Neurology Clinic of one of the two large hospitals of Mashhad, northeast Iran, in 2018. In the intervention group, the family-centered empowerment model consisted of four steps, including perceived threat, problem-solving, educational participation, and evaluation, in four training sessions. Before and 1.5 months after the training sessions, both groups completed the Zarit Burden Interview questionnaire. The control group also received routine care. The data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 16) using paired t-test, independent t-test, Wilcoxon test, and Mann-Whitney U test. The two groups were homogeneous regarding demographic findings. The difference in pre and postcare burden scores decreased 25.1±13.9 and 0.6±3.1 in the intervention and control groups, respectively. Independent t-test showed a significant difference (P<0.001). Intragroup comparison by paired t-test in the intervention group showed a significant difference between the total care burden score before and after the intervention (P<0.001). Implications for Practice: Using the empowerment model focusing on the management of care programs leads to reducing the burden of care and improving the role of caregivers. Therefore, it is recommended to implement family-centered empowerment programs for the caregivers of patients with chronic diseases.