Biopsychosocial and spiritual aspects of Parkinson disease: an integrative review.

The purpose of this study is to systematically examine the scientific literature and report the biopsychosocial and spiritual aspects of persons with Parkinson disease and their adaptation to the disease, to discuss methodological challenges associated with researching this phenomenon, and to propose future research. Synthesis of the literature will reveal the state of the science on the holistic approach to care in persons with Parkinson disease. An exhaustive review of the English language peer-reviewed literature published from January 1961 to July 2011 was conducted utilizing Academic Search Premier, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Psych Articles, Psych Info, PubMed, Wiley InterScience, the Cochrane Center Register for Control Trials, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, and SpringerLink databases. Ninety studies were reviewed. Although numerous medical studies focusing on pharmacological agents for Parkinson disease are reported, there are gaps in the literature on the biopsychosocial, spiritual, and holistic approaches in Parkinson disease care. More research is needed to examine the biopsychosocial and spiritual aspects of persons with Parkinson disease.