Groups with Caregivers of People with Parkinson’s Disease (PD): an invitation to reflection

Abstract

The article invites to reflect on the importance of dialogues in groups of people with PD and with caretakers for people with PD. These are groups of people with social limitations due to the effects of the aging process, PD and, in the case of caregivers, the patient care. The proposed reflection is a product of multiple research and extension projects, with emphasis on the report on sharing groups with caretakers of people with PD, that aim to make space for exchange and (attention) to caretakers and result in relevant reflections, including the importance of dialogue between people with PD and among caretakers. The main themes suggested by caretakers on the sharing group, were: overworking the family caretaker, the caretaker-person with PD relationship, practices that promote better care, development, coexistence, leisure and participant autonomy. The sharing group is part of an interistitutional, and transdisciplinary extension project, is based on systemic theory about the importance of the social network significative to human health (SLUZKI, 1997) and will begin to happen also with people with PD. With a progressively more reflexive focus turned to the maintenance and growth of the social relation between people with PD and their caretakers.