What Fatigue Means to Persons Living with Parkinson's Disease? A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background: Fatigue is one of the most prevalent non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Research is hampered by imprecise terminology and the lack of case definition criteria. Objectives: To elicit the experiences of persons living with PD-related fatigue and provide ecological validation for case definition criteria. Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 22 individuals and 4 focus groups, and analyzed using an inductive qualitative method. Results: Six core themes emerged: (i) difficulty initiating and completing important tasks; (ii) desire for others to understand their fatigue experience; (iii) heterogeneity of experiences and descriptions of fatigue; (iv) complex relationships with other non-motor symptoms; (v) variable self-management strategies; and (vi) general alignment with proposed case definition criteria. Conclusions: PD-related fatigue impacts function, is subjectively distinguishable from other non-motor symptoms, has heterogeneous descriptions, and may be mitigated by various self-management strategies. Proposed case definition criteria appear ecologically valid and warrant further optimization and testing.