'It's a double whammy': A qualitative study of illness uncertainty in individuals with Parkinson's disease in the context of COVID-19

Article


Simpson, J., Zarotti, N., Varey, S., Anestis, E., Holland, C., Murray, C. and Eccles, F. 2022. 'It's a double whammy': A qualitative study of illness uncertainty in individuals with Parkinson's disease in the context of COVID-19. Chronic Illness. 18 (4), pp. 860-873. https://doi.org/10.1177/17423953211043101
TypeArticle
Title'It's a double whammy': A qualitative study of illness uncertainty in individuals with Parkinson's disease in the context of COVID-19
AuthorsSimpson, J., Zarotti, N., Varey, S., Anestis, E., Holland, C., Murray, C. and Eccles, F.
Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of individuals with Parkinson's through the theoretical lens of illness uncertainty during the first UK full lockdown period (March–June 2020) put in place due outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Individual semi-structured interviews were carried out via telephone in May 2020 with 10 individuals with Parkinson's (six men and four women) recruited from Parkinson's UK. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, and thematic analysis was adopted to analyse the resulting data. Results: Four overarching themes emerged from the interview data: (1) COVID-19 amplifying existing fears and difficulties around the uncertainty of Parkinson's; (2) practical and psychological efforts to manage uncertainty; (3) benefit-finding as a way of acknowledging the positives of lockdown; (4) risk and future management in the context of uncertainty. Discussion: Participants reported a range of implicit and explicit strategies to cope with the ‘double whammy’ of uncertainty caused by having Parkinson's during a global pandemic. While these were generally successful in maintaining well-being, it is important that such successful accounts are used to help inform novel strategies and interventions targeting individuals who might need additional support.

KeywordsParkinson's disease; COVID-19; qualitative; illness uncertainty
Sustainable Development Goals3 Good health and well-being
Middlesex University ThemeHealth & Wellbeing
PublisherSAGE Publications
JournalChronic Illness
ISSN1742-3953
Electronic1745-9206
Publication dates
Online15 Sep 2021
PrintDec 2022
Publication process dates
Submitted02 Mar 2021
Accepted06 Aug 2021
Deposited24 May 2023
Output statusPublished
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Copyright Statement

© The Author(s) 2021.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/17423953211043101
Web of Science identifierWOS:000696044300001
LanguageEnglish
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