title: Providing support to relatives and friends managing both chronic physical illness and depression: the views of a national sample of U.S. adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe how comorbid depression in chronically ill adults affects the willingness of their family and friends to provide them with illness management support.
  
  
  METHODS
  We identified a national sample of U.S. adults (n = 1027), all of whom had a close relative or friend with a chronic physical illness. We examined whether respondents were less willing to help their relatives/friends with disease management when they reported that these relatives/friends were also diagnosed with depression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In multivariate models, the odds of respondents being willing to provide disease-management support doubled when the relative/friend was depressed (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.99; 95% C.I. = 1.31, 3.02). Respondents were willing to perform an equal number of illness support tasks for relatives/friends with and without depression. However, respondents reported 30% more difficulties discussing health issues (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.30; 95% C.I. = 1.11, 1.53), and 44% more barriers to providing support (IRR = 1.44; 95% C.I. = 1.18, 1.75) to depressed relatives/friends.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  U.S. adults are more willing to provide disease-management support for chronically ill relatives/friends with depression. However, helping depressed relatives/friends is also more challenging.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  By providing resources for potential supporters, health providers could mobilize an important source of disease-management support for patients with chronic illness and depression.
authors: University of Michigan School of Public Health, Center for Managing Chronic Disease and Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, Ann Arbor, MI 48103-2029, USA. mjanevic@umich.edu
authors: Mary R
authors: MR
authors: Janevic
authors: Ann-Marie
authors: AM
authors: Rosland
authors: Wyndy
authors: W
authors: Wiitala
authors: Cathleen M
authors: CM
authors: Connell
authors: John D
authors: JD
authors: Piette
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D019058:Community Networks; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D019468:Disease Management; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States