Camaraderie for Care Partners: Addressing the Well-Being of Care Partners for Singing Group Participants With Parkinson’s Disease Through a Phenomenological Qualitative Approach

Abstract

Care partners of individuals with Parkinson’s disease experience challenges while managing new responsibilities like transportation, finances, and activities of daily living, which influence their own mental and physical health. While previous qualitative research has investigated the perspectives of people with Parkinson’s disease who participate in singing groups, the perspective of their care partners is less frequently studied. The purpose of this manuscript is to understand the involvement and perspective of care partners of people with Parkinson’s disease participating in a singing group. Eight care partners were interviewed online over Zoom using pre-determined questions detailing the care partners’ involvement and relationship to the group. All transcripts were analyzed using a phenomenological approach and content analysis. Seven primary and eight secondary themes were generated, and these findings indicated that care partners enjoy both observing their partner benefit from a singing group, while finding meaningful relationships with other care partners, supporting singing groups as a promising relational intervention.