Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on (Health) Care Situation of People with Parkinson’s Disease in Germany (Care4PD)

Odette Fründt*, Anne Marie Hanff, Tobias Mai, Christiane Kirchner, Emma Bouzanne des Mazery, Ali Amouzandeh, Carsten Buhmann, Rejko Krüger, Martin Südmeyer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Care4PD study examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the care situation of people (PwP) with Parkinson’s disease in Germany. A comprehensive, nationwide, anonymous questionnaire for PwP was distributed by the members’ journal of the German Parkinson’s Disease Association and in several PD specialized in-and outpatient institutions. PwP subjectively evaluated their general care situation and individual impairments during the pandemic. We analyzed 1269 el-igible out of 1437 returned questionnaires (88.3%) and compared PwP with (p-LTC) and without (np-LTC) professional long-term care. Both groups rated the general pandemic-related consequences as being rather mild to moderate (e.g., worsening of symptom or concerns). However, familial/social contact restrictions were indicated as most compromising, whereas access to outpatient professional health care providers was less affected. PwP with professional LTC reported more impairment than those without. COVID-19 vaccination rates and acceptance were generally high (p-LTC: 64.3%, np-LTC: 52.3%) at the time of the study, but realization of sanitary measures—especially wearing masks as a patient during care sessions—still needs to be improved. Technical options for telemedicine were principally available but only rarely used. Altogether, during the COVID-19 pandemic, PwP in Germany seemed to have a relatively stable health care access, at least in outpatient settings, while mainly social isolation compromised them. The p-LTC group was more impaired in everyday live compared with the np-LTC group.

Original languageEnglish
Article number62
JournalBrain Sciences
Volume12
Issue number1
Early online date31 Dec 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2022

Keywords

  • Care
  • Care4PD
  • Corona
  • COVID-19
  • Germany
  • Impact
  • Impairments
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Telemedicine
  • Vaccination

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