Effectiveness of a Structured, Multi-Component Training Module for Family Caregivers of Persons with Parkinson’s disease

Name of Intervention: A Structured Multi-component Family Training Program for Persons with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) Description of Intervention: It is a 12-week home-based family training program for persons with Parkinson's Disease developed by a panel of 7 total experts of respective fields namely neurology, nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Pathology, Psychology and Dietetics. A training module booklet containing multi-component training materials will be provided to facilitate care at home. The contents of the module consist of multi-care physical exercises (eg: cardio, mobility, strengthening, balance, posture, breathing, functional daily activities, transfer and positioning) and psychosocial tasks (eg: relaxation exercises, mindfulness, speech training, and dietary routines), as well as guidance on healthcare for persons with Parkinson's Disease. In this module, caregivers will be given guidance to supervise persons with Parkinson's to perform the tasks contained in the module. Tasks are to be done 1-3 times per week (for 12 weeks), or as advised specifically by their attending neurologists. Each task may take anywhere between 10-30 minutes, depending on the tolerance of the patients. The module was designed specifically for this study as a guide for caregivers in managing the condition of Parkinson's Disease. While some tasks can be done independently by the patients themselves, all tasks are intended to be done with the supervision (and assistance as required) by their respective caregivers. Completion of tasks will be recorded by the patients and caregivers in logbooks containing the tasks assigned and their respective frequencies. At the end of the 12-week intervention, the logbooks will be referred to in order to determine the patients' compliance to the program. Weekly follow-ups with participants and caregivers will be conducted by researchers via telephone calls. The module guidelines and tasks will be established in a two-day training session, with three hours per day, conducted by a group of multidisciplinary health care professionals, respective to their fields in the module (eg: Neurologists for medical section, nursing for daily care, physiotherapists for physical exercises, occupational therapists for functional activities of daily living, speech therapists for speech and communication, dietician for dietary requirements, psychologists for psychosocial tasks). The mode of delivery for the training session will be by group, and each group will have a trainer to caregiver ratio of 1:4 (1 trainer to 4 caregivers). Only the caregivers are required to be present for the training sessions, but patients are also encouraged to join. The training will be administered face-to-face in the Physiotherapy Department of the Faculty of Allied Health Science in the National University of Malaysia (UKM) Kuala Lumpur Campus. The training sessions will be repeated accordingly until all participants have been trained sufficiently. The training session will commence 2 weeks before starting the 12-week intervention. After each session, participants will be tested with a reliability test to determine whether their understanding is satisfactory enough to carry out the 12-week intervention.