Cross‐cultural differences in Parkinson's disease caregiving and burden between the United States and Mexico

INTRODUCTION: Given the rapidly aging population in both the United States and Mexico, rates of Parkinson's disease (PD) are likely to rise in both countries, suggesting that the number of individuals providing informal care will also increase, and the healthcare system will have to consider the burden this places upon caregivers.

Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine differences in PD caregiving and burden between the United States and Mexico.

METHODS: Data were collected from PD caregivers in the Parkinson's Clinic at the Hospital Civil Fray Antonio Alcalde in Guadalajara, Mexico (N = 148) and the Parkinson's and Movement Disorders Center at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia (N = 105) regarding caregiver demographics and self‐reported burden.

RESULTS: Despite considerably more time spent in caregiving duties, higher rates in unemployment or underemployment, and lower education levels, Mexican PD caregivers reported significantly less personal strain and role strain than did their United States counterparts.

Even after controlling for these and other demographic differences between the two sites, the differences in caregiver burden remained.

CONCLUSIONS: Latino cultural values in Mexico encouraging the importance of caring for family members with PD and respecting elders may promote caregiving and even make it a point of cultural pride, helping to overcome potential negative effects on caregivers seen in the United States.

The scientific and medical communities should view caregiving as a culturally embedded and potentially positive role, rather than predominantly as burdensome as frequently conceptualized in Western or Eurocentric cultures.