Development and evaluation of a dyadic intervention for elderly couples living with moderate-stage Parkinson disease.

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to develop, test and evaluate a dyadic intervention for elderly couples living with moderate-stage Parkinson disease.

Methods: Based on Meleis's theory of transitions and following systemic and participatory approaches, the study comprised four steps informed by the intervention mapping process: 1) assessing couples' intervention needs, preferences and objectives; 2) developing and validating a dyadic intervention proposal; 3) formalizing the dyadic intervention; and 4) testing and evaluating the dyadic intervention.

Results: The dyadic intervention consisted of seven 90-minutes sessions held every other week. Intervention content and strategies used were based on couples' needs, preferences and objectives, as well as specific theories, models and empirical findings.

Conclusion: This study can assist nurses involved in different domains of practice and interested in developing and evaluating theoretically based dyadic interventions.