Psychosocial problems in Parkinson's disease: Evaluation of a disease-specific questionnaire

✍ Scribed by Noëlle G.A. Spliethoff-Kamminga; Aeilko H. Zwinderman; Machiel P. Springer; Raymund A.C. Roos

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 104 KB
• Volume: 18
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-3185
• DOI: 10.1002/mds.10388

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Our objective was to evaluate the BELA‐P‐k, a questionnaire for measuring psychosocial problems and need for help in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. The Belastungsfragebogen Parkinson kurzversion (BELA‐P‐k) was translated from German into Dutch. It consists of 19 items distributed over four subscales: achievement capability/physical symptoms, fear/emotional functioning, social functioning and partner‐bonding/family, with a “Bothered by” (Bb) and a “Need for Help” (NfH) score. The BELA‐P‐k was tested for cultural differences, relevance, and feasibility in a pilot study (n = 10) and compared in a validation study (n = 54) with the Sickness Impact Profile, the COOP/WONCA Functional Health Assessment Charts and the Loneliness Questionnaire. All questionnaires were administered in person at home, in a prescribed order. The BELA‐P‐k was completed by 64 patients with PD. The internal‐consistency reliability coefficients for the total Bb (0.90) and NfH (0.93) scales were excellent. The internal consistency of the subscales exceeded the 0.70 standard except for the “Bothered by partner‐bonding/family scale” (0.61). Almost all BELA‐P‐k subscales correlated highly (P < 0.001) with the corresponding scales of the standard quality‐of‐life indices. There was no significant relationship between disease severity (Hoehn and Yahr) and the BELA‐P‐k. We conclude that the BELA‐P‐k is a relevant, reliable and valid measure for assessing psychosocial problems and need for help of PD patients. © 2003 Movement Disorder Society