Purpose: This study explored the influence of family support, self-care performance and symptom cluster on quality of life (QoL) among individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 132 participants who were over 40 years old and diagnosed with PD from a tertiary hospital in Seoul between September 5 and November 7, 2024. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, t-tests, ANOVA, correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Results: The explanatory power of the final regression model was 71% (F=17.72, p<.001). The most significant factors affecting QoL were motor symptom clusters (t=4.38, p<.001), emotional/emotion regulation clusters (t=2.90, p=.004), time since diagnosis (t=-3.11, p=.002), having a spouse as the primary caregiver (t=2.55, p=.012), self-care performance in the daily life management domain (t=-2.35, p=.020), and self-care performance in the diet domain (t=-2.01, p=.046). Conclusion: Symptom-cluster–informed, family-centered nursing—integrating motor & emotional management, dietary and daily-life self-care coaching, and early diagnostic pathways with caregiver education—is essential to improve QoL in PD.
Park et al. (Fri,) studied this question.