My research focus is nursing interventions for patients and family care givers managing chronic illness in home health care (i.e., heart failure), and measuring outcomes for both. Based on qualitative research with home health care patients and family care givers, I developed and evaluated an instrument to measure a shared interaction (Shared Care) between a patient and their care giver. Shared Care is a system of three processes (communication, decision making, and reciprocity) used by patients and family care givers to exchange support. I conducted 4 cross-sectional studies with home health family care dyads, exploring the relationships between shared care and mutuality, relationship quality, depression, quality of life, and self care in HF, and to confirm the factor structure of Shared Care. The data supported the factor structure of Shared Care. Significant associations were supported between components of shared care and mutuality, relationship quality, depression, quality of life, and self care in HF. This work reflects experience with 395 family care dyads, and suggests that augmenting process of Shared Care may improve care outcomes for both patients and caregivers. Recently, I conducted a field test of the Shared Care Intervention (SCI) with 10 home health family dyads to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the SCI, and examine trends in outcomes. The pilot test results supported the feasibility and acceptability of the SCI. Trends observed in patient outcomes suggested that the SCI improved patient communication and self care management. Caregivers reported improved preparedness, health status, and decreased pain and fatigue.
Articles
Shared Care Dyadic Intervention: Outcome Patterns for Heart Failure Care Partners (with Aimee Woda), Western Journal of Nursing Research (2011)
Up to half of heart failure (HF) patients are readmitted to hospitals within 6 months...
Technology-Enhanced Practice for Patients with Chronic Cardiac Disease: Home Implementation and Evaluation (with Patricia Flatley Brennan, Gail Casper, Laura Burke, Kathy Johnson, Roger Brown, Rupa Valdez, Oscar Perez, and Billie Sturgeon), Heart and Lung (2010)
Objective: This 3-year field experiment engaged 60 nurses and 282 patients in the design and...
Contributions of supportive relationships to heart failure self-care (with Barbara Riegel), European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing (2009)
Supportive relationships are known to improve outcomes for persons with heart failure (HF). Supporters may...
Refinement of the Shared Care Instrument-Revised: A Measure of a Family Care Interaction, Journal of Nursing Measurement (2008)
This study’s purpose was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Shared Care Instrument-Revised (SCI-R)...
Dyadic Relationship Scale: A Measure of the Impact of the Provision and Receipt of Family Care (with Carol J. Whitlatch), The Gerontologist (2007)
Purpose: This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Dyadic Relationship Scale (DRS), which measures...