title: Health Care Communication and Agreement and Disagreement About Symptoms Within the Context of Multimorbidity.
abstract: Informal caregivers for older adults often act as medical 'proxies' based on their assumed knowledge of the care recipient's illness-related symptoms. Differences between symptom descriptions given by care recipients and caregivers, however, raise questions about the validity of proxy reports. Community-dwelling caregivers and their care recipients with chronic, multi-morbid conditions revealed similar numbers of symptoms reported as well as average symptom distress. Dyads with care recipients who scored higher on negative affect were more likely to have significantly lower. Results suggested the possibility of identifying and intervening with dyads who may be 'at-risk' for divergent symptom reporting. This awareness may increase the ability to engage in informed and shared medical decision making throughout the illness trajectory.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Alabama Research Institute on Aging, The University of Alabama , Tuscaloosa , Alabama , USA.
authors.forename: Morgan K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Eichorst
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Alabama Research Institute on Aging, The University of Alabama , Tuscaloosa , Alabama , USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.affiliation: b College of Community Health Sciences and Alabama Research Institute on Aging , The University of Alabama , Tuscaloosa , Alabama , USA.
authors.forename: Anne D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Halli-Tierney
authors.affiliation: c Department of Psychology and Alabama Research Institute on Aging, The University of Alabama , Tuscaloosa , Alabama , USA.
authors.forename: Forrest
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scogin
authors.affiliation: d Center for Palliative and Supportive Care , University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Birmingham-Atlanta Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Administration Medical Center , Birmingham , Alabama , USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Kvale
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D003142:Communication; D015897:Comorbidity; D003657:Decision Making; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057566:Self Report / Q000592:standards*; D012947:Social Work / Q000379:methods; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology
keywords: aging/older adults; chronic illness; family; health care