Introduction People living with Parkinson’s disease in regional Australia face significant challenges accessing specialized healthcare. Of all the people living with Parkinson’s disease, 40% of them are located regionally and 5%–8% of that cohort are living in aged care. Although several studies have been conducted, there is limited knowledge about their experiences as they navigate healthcare systems in regional settings. The aim of this study, therefore, is to explore the experiences of people with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers to gain insight into their preferences for specialized Parkinson’s disease care. Design A qualitative descriptive study was conducted in a regional area of Australia. A secondary analysis of previously collected qualitative data was conducted. Methods Participants had a confirmed diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, resided in regional areas, and attended one clinic appointment independently or with a caregiver. They were all English‐speaking, were capable of participating in Parkinson’s disease‐specific assessment(s), and had a stable anti‐Parkinson’s disease medication regimen. Semistructured individual telephone interviews were completed. Inductive content analysis was used to analyse the interview data. Results Three main categories were identified as “accessing local specialised PD healthcare is impossible,” “mandatory travel for PD care is challenging,” and “a desire for specialist PD nurses.” Conclusions The study explored the inequities in healthcare experienced by people with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers living regionally. People living with Parkinson’s disease or caregivers cannot access specialized Parkinson’s disease management locally, forcing them to travel for their healthcare, which proved to be challenging. Lastly, in the absence of specialist healthcare, local Parkinson’s disease nurses were their preferred clinician. Regional healthcare services must consider the inclusion of specialist Parkinson’s disease nurses.
Sharrad et al. (2026) studied this question.