Stigma Experienced by Parkinson’s Disease Patients: A Descriptive Review of Qualitative Studies

Table 2

Thematic issues related to stigma experience identified in the reviewed articles.

Thematic issues	Reference number of each reviewed article
Symptoms	[5, 16–22]; [5, 16, 18, 23–25]
Embarrassing visible physical symptoms
Progressive loss of functionality and autonomy
Relational and communication problems	[5, 19, 26, 27]; [5, 24]
Oral language (dysphonia, dysarthria)
Body language (facial mask)
Perceptions exchange
The others towards the patient	[5, 16, 21, 23, 24, 26]; [5, 16, 28]
Beliefs on physical and mental status
PD as an illness for old people only
Patient towards the others	[5, 26, 27],; [5, 16, 18, 24–26]
Not being understood and taken seriously
Being a family burden
Caregivers	[24, 25, 28]
Embarrassment and withdrawal due to their lover’s condition