Social, marital, and sexual adjustment of Israeli men whose wives were diagnosed with breast cancer.
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.
Kadmon
Ilana
I
Henrietta Szold Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem, Israel. ikadmon@hadassah.org.il
Ganz
Freda Dekeyser
FD
Rom
Miri
M
Woloski-Wruble
Anna C
AC
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*