“Cardiotoxic” and “cardioprotective” partner support for patient activation and distress: Are two better than one?

Abstract

The study aimed to test whether the presence of a partner was always beneficial to people with cardiac disease and how different types of partner behaviors promoted or hindered their activation and distress. Background: Cardiac disease challenges not only patients but also their partners, whose support is not always effective. Method: A cross-sectional dyadic research design, in which both partners completed a self-report questionnaire during hospitalization, was adopted. The associations between partner support and patient outcomes were tested using stepwise regression analysis. Results: The mere presence of a partner was not associated with distress or activation of a person with cardiac illness. On the contrary, the quality of partner support is differently linked with outcomes of person with cardiac illness; in particular, partner support for activation is significantly associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety, and somatization of person with cardiac disease, whereas overprotection is significantly associated with lower levels of activation. Conclusion: Partner support may be a double-edged sword: Partners may be a powerful ally in illness management but also a barrier to it when partner support is ineffective. Implications: This study highlights the importance of integrating partners in cardiac recovery programs and provides suggestions for the design of couple-based interventions.

Fear of Falling Carries Over into Overprotection in Old Age: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis

“…Based on our results, we cannot answer the question of whether overprotection is maladaptive in the context of fear of falling and increases loss of independence in old age. Cross-sectional studies suggest that overprotection of the social environment is significantly related to lower levels of activation (Bertoni et al, 2022;Sánchez-Garcia et al, 2019). In line with these cross-sectional results, a longitudinal dyadic study on patients surveyed after myocardial infarction revealed that perceiving a partner as overprotective predicted a decline in physical functioning nine months later (Joekes et al, 2007).…”

“…In a qualitative study by Gallant et al (2007), older adults reported discouragement of physical activity as one example of overprotection. Quantitative research extended this finding and revealed that overprotection is related to lower levels of activation and predicts a decline in physical functioning in the long term (Bertoni et al, 2022;Joekes et al, 2007).…”

“…Studies examining overprotection among older adults primarily investigated individuals with chronic illnesses such as cardiac or renal diseases (e.g., Bertoni et al, 2022 ; Jansen et al, 2014 ). In individuals with chronic diseases, higher levels of functional disability may be related to increased levels of perceived overprotection as shown in a study by Cimarolli et al (2006) investigating older adults with visual impairment.…”

The role of patient activation in self‐care behaviours of Korean older adults with heart failure

“…Fourth, even though patient activation primarily focusses on behaviour change through having confidence to take action to maintain one's health compared with health literacy, there may be overlapping features such as knowledge and skills regarding managing one's own health care (Hibbard, 2017 ; Huang et al, 2021 ). Lastly, partner presence may play a statiscally significant role in encouraging patient activation for HF self‐care in older population (Berton et al, 2022 ). However, this study only focussed on patient's individual aspects.…”

Psychological couple-oriented interventions for patients with heart disease and their partners: a scoping review and guidelines for future interventions

“…In fact, patients who feel poorly emotionally supported experience a 41% higher risk of non-compliance with the treatment than those who feel supported by their partner (Leifheit-Limson et al, 2012). Furthermore, perceiving the partner as hostile or overprotective could hinder the patients' motivation or become a barrier to behavioral changes, thus affecting their health (Fiske et al, 1991;Rapelli et al, 2020b;Bertoni et al, 2022).…”