Assessing health related quality of life and distress in people with Parkinson’s Disease

Reynolds, Bronagh (2021) Assessing health related quality of life and distress in people with Parkinson’s Disease. D Clin Psy thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Background: The Distress Thermometer (DT) was developed as a tool to detect distress in cancer patients and has since been validated across various medical conditions and age groups. Idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (IPD) is a progressive neurological condition that causes a variety of disabling motor symptoms (such as tremor, rigidity and slowness of movement) and non-motor symptoms including cognitive and mood disorders, and sleep disturbances. To date, no studies have assessed the performance of the DT for detecting distress in this population.
Objective: The primary aim of this study was to determine if the DT is a valid measure to detect distress in patients with IPD.
Methods: This was a prospective observational study. Participants with IPD were recruited from the Movement Disorder Clinic in NHS Ayrshire & Arran. The DT was administered along with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). To assess test-retest reliability, the DT was administered before and after the clinic appointment.
Results: Forty participants took part. Large correlations were found between the DT and HADS anxiety (rho = 0.68, 98% confidence interval (CI) 0.38 to 0.85) and depression (rho = 0.58, 98% CI 0.24 to 0.79). Test retest reliability was excellent (rho = 0.98, 95% CI 0.96 to 0.99). The most frequently endorsed problems were related to difficulties sleeping and walking.
Conclusions: Despite limitations of the current study, primarily the modest sample size, the DT may be a promising measure to assess distress in people with IPD. Further research with a larger IPD sample is needed.

• Item Type: Thesis (D Clin Psy)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Parkinson Disease, psychological distress, validation study, surveys and questionnaires.
• Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
• Colleges/Schools: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Supervisor's Name: Cullen, Dr Breda
• Date of Award: 2021
• Depositing User: Miss Bronagh Reynolds
• Unique ID: glathesis:2021-81890
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 14 Jan 2021 10:12
• Last Modified: 13 Dec 2022 13:14
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.81890
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/81890