Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore family caregiver perspectives on the barriers and facilitators to work-life balance while caring for adults with Parkinson’s Disease. A convergent mixed methods design was used. An adapted version of the Work-Life Conflict Model by Greenhaus and Beautell guided the study. Participants were recruited through Parkinson's Disease support groups. Formal, paid caregivers were excluded from the study. Forty family caregivers completed surveys such as the Work-Life Balance survey, Job Content Questionnaire, Zarit Burden Interview and other measures on stress, wellbeing, and quality of life. Following completion of surveys, the same forty caregivers participated in semi-structured interviews. The results of the quantitative measures were checked for convergence with themes that were revealed in the qualitative analysis. The mean age of those who enrolled was 58 (standard deviation 14.23; age range 20-75), 78% were female and 70% were working at the time of the study. The most frequent job occupations held by participants in this sample were educational instruction, management, and sales. This mixed methods study had several key findings. Significant caregiver burden was not associated with work-life balance survey scores. However, caregiver burden was strongly correlated with stress, wellbeing, and quality of life. The overarching theme from the qualitative analysis was that working caregivers adapt health promoting practices such as exercise and self-care activities to fit within the context of their demands of caregiving. Three subthemes that emerged were: caregivers have a general awareness of the importance of their own health, many perceived going to work as a form of promoting their own wellbeing and self-care, and while most caregivers had worker wellness programs available, they did not utilize them. From the integrated analysis, three main findings were identified. First, work-life balance was facilitated by meaningful job characteristics such as job flexibility, job proximity and supervisor support. Second, those who were still working but struggled with balancing both their jobs and caregiving found that they were compromised by caregiver burden when the time, stress and behaviors of the caregiver role influenced the ability to be fully present at work. Third, for some participants balancing life meant that they had to give up their work. The results of this study have important implications for future research in occupational health research, chronic care, and caregiving research. The Total Worker Health program under the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health encourages a workplace culture where employees are to engage in wellness programs that support wellbeing. Since this study indicated that caregivers of adults with Parkinson's Disease, a neurological condition that advances over time, underutilize these wellness programs. This has policy implication about employer reimbursement on exercise and health as well as family leave policies. Limitations of this study include a lack of diversity, most were in an urban setting, and those with service jobs were underrepresented in the sample. Future research on larger and more diverse samples is needed to better understand this vulnerable population with dual roles of working and caregiving.
Notes
Presenter notes available in attached slide deck.
Presenters' published work on same topic:
Hellmers, N., Stimpfel, A. W., Fletcher, J., & Dickson, V. V. (2025). Multicontextual Factors That Influence Work-Life Balance of Family Caregivers of Adults With Parkinson’s Disease. Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 67(2), e114–e122. DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003283
References:
Dickson, V. V., Jun, J., & Melkus, G. D. (2021). A mixed methods study describing the self-care practices in an older working population with cardiovascular disease (CVD): Balancing work, life and health. Heart & Lung: The Journal of Critical Care, 50(3), 447–454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrtlng.2021.02.001
Ertl, M. M., Trapp, S. K., González Arredondo, S., Rodríguez Agudelo, Y., & Arango‐Lasprilla, J. C. (2019). Perceived stress, resilience, and health‐related quality of life among Parkinson’s disease caregivers in Mexico. Health & Social Care in the Community, 27(5), 1303–1310. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12767
Punnett, L., Cavallari, J. M., Henning, R. A., Nobrega, S., Dugan, A. G., Cherniack, M. G., & CPH-NEW Research Team. (2020). Defining ‘Integration’ for Total Worker Health®: A New Proposal. Annals of Work Exposures and Health, 64(3), 223–235. https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxaa003
Sigma Membership
Upsilon
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Mixed/Multi Method Research
Keywords:
Caregiver Attitudes, Caregivers, Work-Life Balance, Burden of Care, Parkinson's Disease, Psychological Stress, Psychology of Caregivers
Recommended Citation
Hellmers, Natalie; Witkoski Stimpfel, Amy; Fletcher, Jason; and Dickson, Victoria Vaughan, "Balancing Work and Life: Barriers and Facilitators for Working Caregivers of Adults With Parkinson's Disease" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 101.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2024/presentations_2024/101
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2024
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-03-03
Funder(s)
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Balancing Work and Life: Barriers and Facilitators for Working Caregivers of Adults With Parkinson's Disease
Washington, DC, USA
The purpose of this study was to explore family caregiver perspectives on the barriers and facilitators to work-life balance while caring for adults with Parkinson’s Disease. A convergent mixed methods design was used. An adapted version of the Work-Life Conflict Model by Greenhaus and Beautell guided the study. Participants were recruited through Parkinson's Disease support groups. Formal, paid caregivers were excluded from the study. Forty family caregivers completed surveys such as the Work-Life Balance survey, Job Content Questionnaire, Zarit Burden Interview and other measures on stress, wellbeing, and quality of life. Following completion of surveys, the same forty caregivers participated in semi-structured interviews. The results of the quantitative measures were checked for convergence with themes that were revealed in the qualitative analysis. The mean age of those who enrolled was 58 (standard deviation 14.23; age range 20-75), 78% were female and 70% were working at the time of the study. The most frequent job occupations held by participants in this sample were educational instruction, management, and sales. This mixed methods study had several key findings. Significant caregiver burden was not associated with work-life balance survey scores. However, caregiver burden was strongly correlated with stress, wellbeing, and quality of life. The overarching theme from the qualitative analysis was that working caregivers adapt health promoting practices such as exercise and self-care activities to fit within the context of their demands of caregiving. Three subthemes that emerged were: caregivers have a general awareness of the importance of their own health, many perceived going to work as a form of promoting their own wellbeing and self-care, and while most caregivers had worker wellness programs available, they did not utilize them. From the integrated analysis, three main findings were identified. First, work-life balance was facilitated by meaningful job characteristics such as job flexibility, job proximity and supervisor support. Second, those who were still working but struggled with balancing both their jobs and caregiving found that they were compromised by caregiver burden when the time, stress and behaviors of the caregiver role influenced the ability to be fully present at work. Third, for some participants balancing life meant that they had to give up their work. The results of this study have important implications for future research in occupational health research, chronic care, and caregiving research. The Total Worker Health program under the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health encourages a workplace culture where employees are to engage in wellness programs that support wellbeing. Since this study indicated that caregivers of adults with Parkinson's Disease, a neurological condition that advances over time, underutilize these wellness programs. This has policy implication about employer reimbursement on exercise and health as well as family leave policies. Limitations of this study include a lack of diversity, most were in an urban setting, and those with service jobs were underrepresented in the sample. Future research on larger and more diverse samples is needed to better understand this vulnerable population with dual roles of working and caregiving.
Description
Guided by an adapted version of the Work-Life Conflict Model, this convergent mixed methods study explored 40 family caregiver perspectives on work-life balance while caring for adults with Parkinson’s disease. Results on the integrated qualitative and quantitative findings will be discussed.