Key result
Among 59 heart failure patients and their spouses, three dyadic mental health groups were identified (optimal 31%, poor 32%, incongruent 37%), associated with factors like fatigue and social support.
Why the study?
Heart failure patients and their care partners experience poor mental health, yet most research focuses on them separately rather than examining dyadic mental health patterns.
Observational (n=59)
No
Identifying patterns of dyadic mental health in heart failure patients and their care partners highlights the need for a dyadic approach to mental health interventions.
Dyadic mental health patterns in HF may guide future support strategies; leaves open need for validation and outcome trials before clinical use.
Objectives: Heart failure patients and their family care partners experience poor mental health, yet the majority of the research focuses on patients and care partners separately. Guided by the Theory of Dyadic Illness Management, the purpose of the current study was to identify distinct patterns of dyadic mental health in heart failure and identify the individual, dyadic and familial factors associated with group membership.Method: Fifty nine heart failure community-dwelling patients and their spouse care partners were recruited from an outpatient heart failure clinic. Mental health was operationalized by depressive symptoms, measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) measure of depression. Distinct groups of dyadic mental health were determined by categorizing depression scores within dyads.Results: Three groups of dyadic mental health were identified: an optimal dyadic mental health group (31%), a poor dyadic mental health group (32%) and an incongruent dyadic mental health group (37%). Patient age, patient fatigue, patient concealment, incongruent dyadic appraisal of pain interference and social/familial support were significantly associated with group membership.Conclusion: Findings underscore the salience of a dyadic approach to health and the clinical relevance of identifying patterns of dyadic mental health so we may determine those most in need of intervention.
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Lyons et al. (2020) conducted an observational in Heart failure (n=59). Individual, dyadic and familial factors was evaluated on Distinct patterns of dyadic mental health (depressive symptoms measured with PHQ-9). Among 59 heart failure patients and their spouses, three dyadic mental health groups were identified (optimal 31%, poor 32%, incongruent 37%), associated with factors like fatigue and social support.
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