Dyadic appraisals, dyadic coping, and mental health among couples coping with stroke: A longitudinal study protocol

Status quo and factors influencing dyadic disease appraisal in chronic heart failure based on latent profile analysis in Northern Sichuan Province, China

PURPOSE

This study explored potential categories of dyadic disease appraisal differences among patients hospitalized with chronic heart failure (CHF) in China and analyzed the main factors influencing these categories.

METHODS

A survey was conducted using various tools and scales, including the Chinese version of the Memorial Heart Failure Symptom Appraisal Scale, Heart failure self-care index scale, Social Support Rating Scale, Zarit burden interview, and Self-rating anxiety scale. The data was collected from patients who were hospitalized with CHF in the cardiology department of one of two tertiary hospitals in Nanchong City, China. The dyadic disease appraisal categories were identified using latent profile analysis (LPA). Multiple logistic regression analysis was also employed to analyze the factors influencing the formation of potential categories of differences in dyadic disease appraisal in CHF patients.

RESULTS

A total of 262 pairs of hospitalized CHF patients and their caregivers participated in this study. The dyadic disease appraisal of CHF patients was potentially categorized as the "negative difference group" (28 individuals, 10.7%) and the "positive or convergence group" (234 persons, 89.3%). The results showed that the factors influencing the categorization of dyadic disease appraisal differences included the patient's social support, disease progression, and Caregivers anxiety level, burden, gender, educational attainment, and age (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The study findings demonstrated heterogeneity between the two groups of CHF patients in the dyadic disease appraisal. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on patients who have a brief duration of illness and limited social support. Specifically, it is important to prioritize support for female caregivers who are 65 years or older, have lower levels of educational attainment, and experience a significant burden and anxiety. Regular implementation of support person-bilateral co-management strategies can effectively reduce differences in how the disease is perceived and enhance the overall well-being of both caregivers and patients.

Relationship Between Dyadic Coping with Anxiety and Depression in Infertile Couples: Gender Differences and Dyadic Interaction

BACKGROUND

This study aims to examine the relationship between anxiety and depression and dyadic coping in infertile couples, exploring gender differences and dyadic interactions in these associations.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 288 couples recruited from the First Affiliated Hospital of Lanzhou University between November 2021 and November 2022. The Dyadic Coping Scale, Anxiety Scale, and Depression Scale were utilized to measure dyadic coping, anxiety, and depression, respectively. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model was used to analyze the actor effect and partner effect.

RESULTS

Wives exhibited significantly higher anxiety and depression scores compared to husbands (p<0.001). No statistically significant difference was found in dyadic coping between wives and husbands. Positive dyadic coping in infertile couples had significant actor effects on anxiety and depression (p<0.05) and partner effects (p<0.05). Positive dyadic coping negatively predicted anxiety and depression of oneself and one's partner. Negative dyadic coping in infertile couples also had significant actor effects on anxiety and depression (p<0.05) and partner effects (p<0.05). Negative dyadic coping positively predicted anxiety and depression of oneself and one's partner.

CONCLUSION

The dyadic coping style of infertile couples has both actor and partner effects on their own and their partner's anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression in infertile couples are influenced by their own and their partner's dyadic coping style, respectively. Therefore, dyadic coping serves as an important indicator for predicting psychological outcomes in these couples.

Physio-psycho-social interaction mechanism in dyadic health of young and middle-aged stroke survivors and their spousal caregivers: a longitudinal observational study protocol

INTRODUCTION

In recent years, stroke has become more common among young people. Stroke not only has a profound impact on patients' health but also incurs stress and health threats to their caregivers, especially spousal caregivers. Moreover, the health of stroke survivors and their caregivers is interdependent. To our knowledge, no study has explored dyadic health of young and middle-aged stroke survivors and their spousal caregivers from physiological, psychological and social perspectives. Therefore, this proposed study aims to explore the mechanism of how physiological, psychological and social factors affect dyadic health of young and middle-aged stroke survivors and their spousal caregivers. The findings of this study will provide implications for developing interventions to improve dyadic health of this growing population.

METHODS AND ANALYSES

We will collect data from 57 dyads of young and middle-aged stroke survivors and their spousal caregivers during hospitalisation and at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after discharge. Questionnaires will be used to collect participants' demographic information, stress, depression, anxiety, benefit finding, social support, mutuality and quality of life. The following physiological reactions will be collected at baseline, including interleukin 6, tumour necrosis factor-alpha and salivary cortisol.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The study was approved by the ethics review committee of life sciences of Zhengzhou University (No. ZZUIRB2020-53). Prior to being enrolled in the study, participants will be given full and detailed information about the possible risks involved, the informed consent process, confidentiality, the study procedure and secure data storage. Participants will be guaranteed that they can withdraw from the study at any time without providing a reason or leading to any consequences. Both oral and written informed consent will be obtained from all participants. The findings of this proposed study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and academic conferences.

Construction and validation of a serial album for companions of patients with stroke

OBJECTIVES

to construct and validate a serial album, to be used in hospital discharge planning of patients with stroke.

METHODS

a methodological study, with construction of a serial album, validity by 22 judges and assessment by 22 companions. Data were collected from the Health Education Content Validity Instrument, with the companions, from the Suitability Assessment of Materials.

RESULTS

the serial album has 21 pages. The overall Content Validity Index was equal to 0.87 among expert judges and 1.0 among companions.

CONCLUSIONS

the educational technology constructed was considered valid by the judges and assessed as understandable by the companions so that it presented itself as a viable technological resource for use in the health education of companions of patients with stroke.

Self-care interventions in stroke survivor–caregiver dyads: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction

Stroke is known as one of the leading causes of mortality and disability worldwide. Self-care plays a significant role in improving the quality of life, self-efficacy and many other outcomes of stroke survivors. However, it is a dyadic phenomenon where patient self-care and the caregiver contribution to self-care are inter-related in terms of predictors and outcomes. Currently, there is still no systematic assessment conducted to examine the overall effectiveness of self-care interventions carried out in stroke survivor–caregiver dyads and explore the effect on stroke survivor and/or caregiver outcomes.

Methods

We plan to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence regarding the self-care interventions carried out in stroke survivor–caregiver dyads. We will undertake a systematic search of multiple databases including PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and four Chinese databases (CNKI, CBM, WANFANG and VIP) from inception to July 2021 for the purpose of collecting the relevant articles. The eligible studies are defined as those original researches, written in English or Chinese, on self-care interventions in stroke survivor–caregiver dyad samples. Two independent researchers will be deployed to identify the eligible trials according to the selection criteria and extract the relevant data. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols checklist has been used for this protocol. We will use the Cochrane Risk for Bias tool to assess the risk of bias for randomised controlled trials.

Ethics and dissemination

In our review, any identifiable patient data will be excluded, which removes the need for ethical approval and participant consent. The final results of our study will be published in an open-access peer-reviewed journal, and abstract will be presented at suitable national/international conferences.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42021239824.