Dyad Gender and Relationship Quality Influence Heart Failure Self-Care

Caregivers promote heart failure self-care, yet little is known about how relationship quality and dyad gender influences self-care. The purpose of this study was to evauluate the contribution of dyad gender and relationship quality on heart failure self-care. The study was a secondary analysis from a heart failure self-care intervention. Dyad gender was categorized by patient-caregiver gender as Male-Male (M + M), Female-Female (F + F), Female-Male (Fp + Mc), and Male-Female (Mp + Fc). The Self-Care of Heart Failure Index v.6.2 measured self-care. The Mutuality Scale assessed relationship quality. Univariate linear regression identified determinants of patient self-care maintenance and self-efficacy. The sample (n = 503) was 48% Mp + Fc, 27% F + F, 15% Fp + Mc, and 10% M + M. Better caregiver mutuality in M + M dyads was associated with lower self-care maintenance (b = −7.45, 95% CI [−13.80, −1.11]) and self-efficacy (b = −18.07, 95% CI [−29.11, −7.04]). Better patient mutuality was associated with higher self-efficacy for M + M dyads (b = 12.63, 95% CI [2.18, 23.09]). Mutuality and dyad gender appear important for self-care. Consider the role of gender in the dyad in behavioral interventions.