TABLE 2.
■ | How do both overall family functioning and components of family functioning (ie, problem solving, communication, and adaptability) affect heart failure (HF) self-care and outcomes? |
■ | How do marital status and marital quality affect self-care and outcomes in HF? How should these factors be addressed in HF care? |
■ | What family behaviors should be targeted to achieve the largest effect in improving self-care in HF? |
■ | What aspects of family and caregiver knowledge and skills are most facilitative of patient self-care and improved outcomes in HF? |
■ | What family and caregiver characteristics (ie, self-efficacy, caregiver burden, and health literacy) are most important to HF self-care outcomes? |
■ | Does reducing HF caregiver burden have a positive impact on family outcomes and patient self-care in HF? |
■ | What is the effect of tailoring self-care interventions in HF based on family variables? |
■ | How can families best be prepared for HF self-care in the context of complex comorbidities such as diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and others? |
■ | What is the impact of technology, telemonitoring, and Web-based interventions on family caregiver outcomes? |
■ | How does culture influence the key family variables that are important in HF self-care? How should HF family self-care interventions be modified based on these variables for different cultural groups? |