Lived experiences of word-finding difficulties in individuals diagnosed with Parkinson's disease: a qualitative interview study

PURPOSE: The progression of Parkinson's disease is known to lead to dysarthria, but the occurrence and impact of word-finding difficulties on communication has been less studied. The objective of this study was to explore the experiences of word-finding difficulties in everyday life among people with Parkinson's disease. METHOD: Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were performed with individuals diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The interviews were transcribed and analysed with an inductive approach using conventional qualitative content analysis. RESULT: Fifteen participants (mean age 72 years and varying in degree of severity and time since diagnosis) were included. Three main categories emerged in the analysis: (a) Word-finding difficulties have consequences in everyday life, (b) Influencing factors in a variable word-finding ability, and (c) Coping with word-finding difficulties. The result showed that word-finding difficulties affected the participants to variable extents and that access to communicative strategies also varied. Changes in communicative participation were described along with factors affecting the word-finding ability, for example, health status and contextual factors like conversation partners. CONCLUSION: Word-finding difficulties may impact the daily lives of people with Parkinson's disease. Speech-language pathologists can play a key role in assessing word-finding ability and assisting in development of functional communication strategies, involving family members and professional carers.