title: Social, marital, and sexual adjustment of Israeli men whose wives were diagnosed with breast cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the psychosocial adjustment of Israeli men whose wives were diagnosed with breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive study.
  
  
  METHODS
  An urban tertiary medical center.
  
  
  METHODS
  A convenience sample of 50 Israeli men whose wives had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The average age was 53.8 years. All of the men spoke and wrote Hebrew.
  
  
  METHODS
  Husbands completed a demographic and wives' health-related questionnaire, the Social Support Questionnaire to measure social support from their wives, the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale to measure adjustment to a serious disease of the wives, and the Locke Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale to measure marital and sexual adjustment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Psychosocial adjustment, social support, relationships with their partners, and relationships with the healthcare system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A fifth of the men reported various levels of stress and concern. Half described financial difficulties. Three-quarters of the men noted changes in their relationships. More than a third of the husbands experienced a reduction in communication with their families. All of the men expressed satisfaction with the healthcare system, although some of them expressed a need to receive more information.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Husbands of women with breast cancer grapple with multiple issues on several fronts. They need support and information from the healthcare team even if they do not request it in a timely or direct manner.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Response to the unspoken needs of men whose wives have breast cancer necessitates education and ongoing staff education to develop strategic support and communication.
authors.affiliation: Henrietta Szold Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem, Israel. ikadmon@hadassah.org.il
authors.forename: Ilana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kadmon
authors.forename: Freda Dekeyser
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Ganz
authors.forename: Miri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rom
authors.forename: Anna C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Woloski-Wruble
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001943:Breast Neoplasms; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D019529:Sexuality; D012944:Social Support; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*