Families of long-term cancer survivors: health maintenance advocacy and practice.
Research on cancer and aging has addressed health maintenance issues for older adults in long-term cancer survivorship, but not their family members. The current study focused on two aspects of health maintenance for families: advocacy and practice. Regression analyses explored the effects of demographic characteristics and perceptions during diagnoses and treatments on family members' health maintenance in long-term survivorship. Family members were acting as health maintenance advocates for their surviving relatives. Advocacy was related to being a caregiver during diagnosis and treatment. In terms of their own health, family members were practicing a high number of health maintenance activities. Practice was associated with being a caregiver during diagnosis and treatment and with being older and White. Implications for interventions and future research with family members are discussed.
Bowman
Karen F
KF
Department of Sociology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106-7124, USA. Karen.bowman@case.edu
Rose
Julia H
JH
Deimling
Gary T
GT
D000328:Adult; D032721:Adult Children; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D003142:Communication; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D009679:Nuclear Family / Q000523:psychology; D009820:Ohio; D012044:Regression Analysis; D018454:Spouses; D017741:Survivors