Empathy and (Self-)Compassion in Parkinson's Disease Patients and Caregivers
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: empathy and compassion training.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Parkinson Disease(PD). Basic parameters: 50 years — 80 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Switzerland
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Empathy and (Self-)Compassion to Improve the Quality of Life of Parkinson's Disease Patients and Caregivers: an Exploratory Study
Overview
The goal of this clinical trial is to improve quality of life in Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients by increasing their empathy and their (self-)compassion. The main question it aims to answer is: Does the level of quality of life in PD patients and caregivers improve after empathy/(self-)compassion training? Participants will be delivered a 6-week empathy and compassion training (mindfulness, writing and poetry exercises addressing the cognitive, emotional, motivational and behavioural components of (self-)compassion) and will also be asked to answer questionnaires before and after the training
Interventions
- Behavioral empathy and compassion training
A 6-week empathy and compassion training will be designed and delivered involving PD patients and caregivers. During the compassion training participants will do mindfulness, writing and poetry exercises
Primary outcome measures
- PD patients quality of life improvement [Time frame: from baseline to the end of intervention (6weeks)]
Secondary outcome measures (4)
- change in the level of empathy in PD patients and caregivers [Time frame: from baseline to the end of intervention (6weeks)]
- self-compassion level change in PD patients and caregivers [Time frame: from baseline to the end of intervention (6weeks)]
- compassion level change in PD patients and caregivers [Time frame: from baseline to the end of intervention (6weeks)]
- quality of life level change in caregivers [Time frame: from baseline to the end of intervention (6weeks)]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Diagnosis of PD
- Hoehn and Yahr scale, stage ≤ 3
- Mini Mental State Examination with a score ≥ 26
- Able to give informed consent as documented by signature
- At least, secondary school education
- To have a regular caregiver at home
Exclusion criteria
- Any medical condition that is not PD, such as drug induced parkinsonism
- Major depression, dysthymia, or according to DSM-V
- Other neurological or psychiatric diseases
- Neuropsychological scores compatible with the diagnosis of early dementia
- Inability to follow the procedures of the study, e.g. due to language problems, psychological disorders, etc
For CAREGIVERS:
Inclusion criteria
- Taking care of the patient on a regular basis, i.e., at least 3 days per week
- Being caregiver of the patients for at least 3 months
- At least, secondary school education
- Written informed consent
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- N/A
- Model
- Single group
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
Study locations
Switzerland · 1 center
- Istituto di Neuroscienze Cliniche della Svizzera Italiana, EOC — Lugano
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07097298 · EMPCOMP-PD-001