Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder that leads to a decrease in dopamine levels and increased motor symptoms (Ahmad et al., 2023). The known prevalence ranges from 3 to 5 million (North Americans) with a typical midlife onset. As the elderly population rises across the globe, PD cases are expected to double by 2040, therefore highlighting the importance of nursing care in patient care. The main non-dementia motor symptom of Parkinson’s (PD), comprising of tremors, muscle rigidity, slow movements and impaired balance, eventually leads to severe disability in elderly patients through decreased ability to do activities of daily living. Basic tasks such as writing, dressing or getting ready for the day became almost superhumanly difficult and necessitated using assistive devices.
This movement is being affected due to rigidity and bradykinesia that results in shuffling gait and difficulty in going from a sitting to a standing posture, as well as leading to more injuries through falls. As a PD progresses, postural instability thickens the rings of the security that one hitherto had. Apart from these, subjects start perceiving chronic pain and bladder and bowel dysfunction, which we will also call emotional disorders and sleeping disturbances. With the prominent features stressing the patients, both physically and mentally, it becomes a challenge to take care of older patients.
Nursing intervention constitutes a significant involvement during PD diagnosis, treatment decision-making, and symptom alleviation to improve function and quality of life. In the first step of PD nursing education, nurses begin by educating individuals at the time of diagnosis to help reduce the level of anxiety that usually arises following the diagnosis. Care coordination is where narrow specialists such as neurologists, therapists, counselors, home health as well as hospice personnel are engaged (Ahmad et al., 2023). Nurses are responsible for dispensing complicated medication regimens and making sure that they do not cause adverse effects or interactions. They may also refer patients to physical, occupational, and speech therapists in order to overcome the barriers that they face in their daily life activities. Recommendations pertaining to assistive devices (walkers, grab bars) and home modifications are also provided to try and minimize catastrophic falls. Supplementary services emphasizing support groups, caregiver tools, and neighborhood exercise programs not only help maintain good mental health but also add practical support to the day-to-day struggle.
In the final analysis, deteriorating motor movements and mobility, which leads to loss of independence in activities of daily living, affect the quality of life most negatively. With an array of motor, non-motor and emotionally related symptoms, patients get drained of already limited physical and psychological abilities (Jiménez et al., 2023).PD nursing involves a variety of services such as handling the diagnosis, documenting, planning, implementation, coordinating the treatment and making sure the patient adheres to the treatment plan, medication/therapy management, facilitating a safe aging process by using assistive devices, as well as counseling which helps to reduce emotional stress. Here, these specific interventions focus on the preservation of function and quality of life in spite of the limitations that are caused by the disease. The only growing scenario in this context is when the burden of disease is high: nursing comes for that reason to improve the outcomes.
Reference
Ahmad, M. H., Rizvi, M. A., Ali, M., & Mondal, A. C. (2023). Neurobiology of depression in Parkinson’s disease: Insights into epidemiology, molecular mechanisms and treatment strategies. Aging research reviews, 101840.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1568163722002823
Jiménez-Barrios, M., González-Bernal, J., Cubo, E., Gabriel-Galán, J. M., García-López, B., Berardi, A., … & González-Santos, J. (2023). Functionality and Quality of Life with Parkinson’s Disease after Use of a Dynamic Upper Limb Orthosis: A Pilot Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(6), 4995. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/6/4995
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