title: Challenges and strategies of dyad research: cardiovascular examples.
abstract: This article highlights challenges in recruitment, retention, attrition, data collection, and analysis when studying dyads in cardiovascular research. Including family members in studies is particularly important because family members often have a major role in treatment of patients with cardiovascular illness. The partnership of a patient-family member is referred to as a dyad and may include the cardiovascular patient and another relative, such as an adult child, sibling, spouse, son-in-law or daughter-in-law, or unmarried partner. Insights gained from previous research may facilitate and improve rigor when reviewing and conducting studies involving dyads with cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. Including patients and partners in descriptive and intervention studies will allow researchers to more fully explore family factors that may be salient in health outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. cquinn2@emory.edu <cquinn2@emory.edu>
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: Sandra B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Dunbar
authors.forename: Patricia C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Ora L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Strickland
mesh_terms: D019985:Benchmarking; D002017:Budgets; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003625:Data Collection; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D034462:Dissent and Disputes; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D015399:Nursing Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010352:Patient Dropouts / Q000523:psychology; D018579:Patient Selection; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D012107:Research Design; D035842:Research Subjects / Q000523:psychology; D035844:Researcher-Subject Relations / Q000523:psychology