# Evaluating the role of the caregiver in the quality of life of people with Parkinson?s disease: opportunities for intervention

> **NIH NIH F31** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $46,036

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY: The goal of this fellowship is to prepare the applicant, Kate Perepezko, for an
independent research career focused on designing, implementing, and disseminating interventions to improve
quality of life for people living with neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD). To
accomplish this goal, the proposed fellowship consists of two complementary components: (1) a research
project that will further our understanding of caregiver characteristics that are related to quality of life in people
with PD; and (2) a training plan comprised of formal coursework, mentorship, data analysis training (including
growth mixture modeling and mixed methods analysis), publications, and didactic activities, and
professionaldevelopment activities. Ms. Perepezko will be supported by a strong mentorship team at Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with expertise in
Parkinson’s disease, intervention development, and advanced analytic methodology (quantitative and
qualitative). The training program will help the applicant; a) develop knowledge in quality of life and PD
research; b) develop strong methodological skills in longitudinal data analysis and mixed methods analysis;
and c) engage in the dissemination of findings and networking within the broader PD research community. A
decrease in quality of life in people with neurodegenerative diseases such as PD is frequently observed.
Quality of life is a significant public health concern and it is a priority to develop interventions to improve quality
of life in the PD population. Interventions targeting caregivers of people with other diseases, including
dementia, have demonstrated positive impacts on quality of life in care recipients. However, little is known
about caregiver characteristics that are related to quality of life in people with PD or if a similar intervention
design is feasible in this population. Accordingly, the proposed project will: 1) describe the current evidence on
caregiver factors that are associated with quality of life in people living with Parkinson’s disease; 2) identify
caregiver characteristics that are associated with different trajectories of quality of life in people with PD; and 3)
explore perspectives on quality of life employing semi-structured interviews among a purposive sample of
caregivers and people with PD. These aims will be investigated with an existing dataset from the longitudinal,
multi-site Parkinson’s Outcomes Project (Parkinson Foundation, POP; the largest longitudinal Parkinson’s
disease study to date with 5,500) and a data set developed during the study through a qualitative investigation.
The proposed research directly addresses the 2016 NIA Strategic Directions for Research on Aging (Goal C)
that calls for more research on “develop[ing] effective interventions to maintain health, well-being, and function
and prevent or reduce the burden of age-related diseases.” Our finding...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10088327
- **Project number:** 5F31AG066316-02
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Kate M Perepezko
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $46,036
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-02-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10088327

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10088327, Evaluating the role of the caregiver in the quality of life of people with Parkinson?s disease: opportunities for intervention (5F31AG066316-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10088327. Licensed CC0.

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