ABSTRACT
Most research on Parkinson's disease (PD) has focused on the person with the diagnosis. The accumulation of evidence that family carers are an 'at risk' population has resulted in a National Strategy for Carers, which aims to support carers in terms of information and practical assistance. Some carers are happy to take on full-time caregiving; others report that they have little choice. Carers of PPD are generally family members. There is substantial evidence that indicates that if a spouse is alive and well, they will assume the responsibility for the welfare of an incapacitated elder. Carers' emotionality and coping style are major predictors of care giver outcomes. Carers are important to the management of Parkinson's disease: a breakdown in care-giving leading to institutionalisation is as likely to be the result of a breakdown in the caregiver's health, as to be caused by the PPD being too ill to be cared for.
