Assessing the response of patients and spousal/partner caregivers to a new instrument measuring dyadic heart failure care types

Background: Nurse researchers are exploring new ways of understanding heart failure (HF), spousal/partner dyad's self care. Aims: To assess the response to a new instrument developed to measure dyadic HF care type in HF patients and spousal/ partner caregivers and explore relationships between type and other variables. Methods: Dyads answered a written criterion referenced question related to dyadic HF care type. The relationships between the dyadic care type and sociodemographic and clinical variables were explored using ÷ 2, coefficient. Degree of agreement within the dyad on particular type was assessed by kappa statistic. Results: A total of 19 dyads were accrued. Patients were aged 71.7±9.7 years (mean±SD), male (n=15), and NYHA Class IIIB/IV (79%). Caregivers were aged 69.2±11.7 years, female (n=15), married for 45.2±14.1 years. HF patient and caregiver dyads were easily able to self select a dyadic type given specific criteria. Agreements ranged from 21% to 5%, by type, resulting in a kappa of 0.28 (p = 0.025) when patient self reported type was compared to their caregiver's type. Conclusions: Now that we are able to measure types of dyadic HF care, understanding how dyadic care type relates to self care outcomes is needed to advance the science.