Person with Heart Failure and Care Partner Dyads: Current Knowledge, Challenges, and Future Directions:...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Gerontology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Heart failure (HF) research is expanding to include care dyads, recognizing the interdependent relationship between patients and their unpaid care partners.
• Existing dyadic research in other chronic conditions, such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease, provides a foundation for understanding HF care dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a state-of-the-art review of current research on heart failure (HF) care dyads.
• To identify and summarize studies examining HF patients and their care partners as a unit.
• To highlight challenges, limitations, and future directions in HF dyadic research.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of the literature on HF care dyads.
• Inclusion of qualitative studies, nonexperimental quantitative studies, and randomized controlled trials.
• Analysis of research focusing on the patient-care partner dyad in heart failure management.

Main Results:

• The body of research on HF care dyads is growing but is less developed than in other chronic diseases.
• Current HF dyadic research faces challenges related to rigor and common methodological issues.
• Significant potential exists for dyadic research to enhance patient, care partner, and relationship health in HF.

Conclusions:

• Viewing HF care through a dyadic lens is crucial for understanding and improving patient and care partner outcomes.
• Addressing methodological limitations is essential for advancing the rigor of HF dyadic research.
• Future research should focus on leveraging dyadic approaches to optimize the health and well-being of individuals with HF and their care partners.