Predictors of Engagement in a Virtual Support Intervention for Caregivers of Adults With Heart Failure: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study.
Barbara Riegel, Sue Hyon Kim, Ryan Quinn and 7 others
PMID 41709308WHAT IT FOUND
Only 57.6% of caregivers randomized to virtual heart failure coaching completed 8 or more sessions.
Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, Asian, or other people of color caregivers, those with insufficient income, and those with more caregiving hours were less likely to engage; some misunderstood the program.
Key findings
01Only 57.6% of caregivers assigned to the virtual coaching intervention completed 8 or more sessions, and 21% completed none.
02Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, Asian, or other people of color caregivers and caregivers reporting insufficient income were less likely to complete 8 or more sessions.
03More daily caregiving hours were associated with lower engagement, and many caregivers who attended fewer sessions misunderstood the intervention as data collection.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The quantitative analysis included only 125 caregivers from the intervention group of a single-center study, and missing data reduced the multivariable sample to 116 and the credibility sensitivity sample to 94. The qualitative findings came from 24 interviewed caregivers, so they are not a full account of all caregivers in the study. Most enrollment occurred during the pandemic, which may have changed caregiver stress, access, and willingness to attend sessions. The study measured sessions completed, not whether the coaching helped caregivers, and it cannot show that changing these factors would improve engagement.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. No funding source is reported in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read lower session completion among Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, Asian, or other people of color caregivers, caregivers with insufficient income, or caregivers with more daily caregiving hours as evidence that these caregivers do not value support. The study measured attendance, not willingness or benefit, and many caregivers said they misunderstood the program or could not fit it into daily life.