Home-based exercise rehabilitation experience for older adult patients with Parkinson’s disease and caregivers - a qualitative research

Sep 29, 2026

Real-life experiences and needs of older adult patients with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers are examined to inform scientifically grounded home exercise rehabilitation intervention programs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 patients and 13 caregivers using purposive sampling, followed by content analysis and theme extraction. Three themes emerged: a knowledge–practice gap in self-management, caregiver limitations and lack of training compounded by missing family/community support, and a demand for an integrated hospital–community–family support continuum for ongoing professional guidance and social/policy backing.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background and rationale

Home-based rehabilitation and challenges

Methods

Participants and sampling

Interviews and analysis

Results

Theme 1: Knowledge–practice gap

Theme 2: Unsupported caregiver

Theme 3: Integrated support continuum

Conclusion

Recommended integrated care model

TYPE Original Research PUBLISHED 22 December 2025 DOI 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1735475 OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Asos Mahmood, University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), United States REVIEWED BY Karolina Kopacz, Medical University of Lodz, Poland Dennis Boer, Leiden University, Netherlands *CORRESPONDENCE Mohedesi Siyiti [332701878@qq.com](332701878@qq.com) RECEIVED 30 October 2025 REVISED 20 November 2025 ACCEPTED 08 December 2025 PUBLISHED 22 December 2025 CITATION Dong H, Li P, Xue L, Jiang X and Siyiti M (2025) Home-based exercise rehabilitation experience for older adult patients with Parkinson’s disease and caregivers: a qualitative research. Front. Public Health 13:1735475 . doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1735475 COPYRIGHT © 2025 Dong, Li, Xue, Jiang and Siyiti. This isan open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Home-based exercise rehabilitation experience for older adult patients with Parkinson’s disease and caregivers: a qualitative research Honglian Dong 1,2, Peishan Li3,4, Li Xue3,4, Xiao'e Jiang 1,2 and Mohedesi Siyiti 1,2* 1School of Nursing, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China, 2Health Care Research Center for Xinjiang Regional Population, Urumqi, China, 3Department of Neurology III, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China, 4Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Neurological Diseases Research, Urumqi, China Objective: To understand the real-life experiences and needs of older adult patients with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers regarding home-based exercise rehabilitation, and to provide evidence for developing scientifically grounded home exercise rehabilitation intervention programs. Methods: A total of 15 older adult patients with Parkinson’s disease and 13 caregivers from the Neurology Department of a tertiary-level Class A hospital in Urumqi were selected using purposive sampling for semi-structured interviews. Data analysis and theme extraction were conducted using content analysis. Results: The analysis identified three primary themes: (1) “The Knowledge– Practice Gap in Self-Management,” in which poor understanding of PD and exercise benefits resulted in low motivation and a lack of accessible skills led to monotonous routines; (2) “The Unsupported Caregiver: A System and Family Gap,” in which the efforts of caregivers were hindered by their own limitations and a lack of training, compounded by the absence of family and community support networks; and (3) “An Appeal for an Integrated Support Continuum,” which reflected a strong need for ongoing professional guidance and comprehensive social and policy support. Conclusion: Systemic multidimensional bottlenecks, specifically a critical knowledge–practice gap among patients and a stark lack of support for aging caregivers, hinder home-based exercise rehabilitation for older adults with PD in northwest China. To address these context-specific barriers, healthcare systems should develop an integrated “hospital–community–family” care model that provides continuous professional guidance and robust social support, ultimately aiming at improving rehabilitation efficacy and quality of life. KEYWORDS Parkinson’s disease, older adults, caregivers, home-based exercise rehabilitation, experience, qualitative research Frontiers in Public Health 01 [frontiersin.org](frontiersin.org) 1 Introduction Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder ( 1) . Recently, the annual prevalence of PD has increased. With the acceleration in population aging, the global number

FAQs

What is the objective of this study?

To understand the real-life experiences and needs of older adult patients with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers regarding home-based exercise rehabilitation, and to support development of evidence-based home exercise intervention programs.

How were participants selected and data analyzed?

A total of 15 patients and 13 caregivers were selected using purposive sampling for semi-structured interviews. Content analysis was used for data analysis and theme extraction.

What three main themes were identified?

The study identified three themes: a knowledge–practice gap in patients’ self-management, an unsupported caregiver shaped by system and family gaps, and an appeal for an integrated support continuum with ongoing professional and social/policy assistance.

Sep 29, 2026

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