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At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Spouses of first-ever stroke patients: their view of the future during the first phase after stroke.

BACKGROUND: A partner's stroke can be perceived as a critical event by a spouse. Previous studies have focused primarily on the impact of stroke on spouses' psychosocial well-being over the long term. However, the experience of spouses in the first phase after stroke is not well known. AIM: To investigate spouses' perception of their future daily life after stroke and the association between this perception and the objective characteristics of the stroke. METHOD: Eighty-three consecutively enrolled spouses of first-ever stroke patients < 75 years admitted to Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Göteborg, Sweden participated. The mean age of the spouses was 57 years. Sixty-two of the spouses were women and 21 men. Interviews about their experiences 10 days after onset were generally made at the hospital. The interviews were analysed, categorized and combined with statistical analyses of variables such as ages and sex of the spouses, type of lesion and presence of neurological impairments in the stroke patient. RESULTS: Four different categories of the concept 'view of the future' were developed on the basis of the interviews. Of the different characteristics of the stroke, the severity of the sensorimotor impairment seemed to have the greatest impact on the spouses' view of the future. The spouses of stroke patients with pure sensorimotor impairment were more likely to have an optimistic view of the future than when the sensorimotor impairment was combined with cognitive deficits. There was a broad distribution of the different characteristics of stroke between the four categories. CONCLUSIONS: Although the perception of future daily life varied, it was possible to categorize the spouses' cognitive image of future life according to degree of optimism. While the severity of stroke was of importance, the individual perception of the disease, impact on future activities and the spouses' own coping capacity was of great significance for the perception of future daily life.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1989

Fatal violence among spouses in the United States, 1976-85.

In this paper we examine patterns and trends in homicides between marriage partners in the United States for 1976 through 1985 using data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Supplemental Homicide Reports (FBI-SHR). We identified 16,595 spouse homicides accounting for 8.8 per cent of all homicides reported to the FBI-SHR during this 10-year period. The rate of spouse homicide for this 10-year period was 1.6 per 100,000 married persons. The risk of being killed by one's spouse was 1.3 times greater for wives than for husbands. Black husbands were at greater risk of spouse homicide victimization than Black wives or White spouses of either sex. The risk of victimization was greater for spouses in interracial than in intraracial marriages and increased as age differences between spouses increased. From 1976 through 1985, the risk of spouse homicide declined by more than 45.0 per cent for both Black husbands and wives but remained relatively stable for White husbands and wives. Demographic patterns in the risk of spouse homicide were similar to those reported for nonfatal spouse abuse suggesting that the causes of spouse homicide and nonfatal spouse abuse may be similar.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Psychologic distress among spouses of patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to identify common sources of distress in spouses of patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation and to compare spouses classified as being in distress and those classified as nondistressed on demographic variables, their experiences of stress, coping strategies employed, marital intimacy, and level of family functioning. The study aimed to describe the needs of spouses with respect to possible interventions. DESIGN: A cross-sectional analysis was used. SETTING: The study was located at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Prevention and Rehabilitation Centre's cardiac rehabilitation program. OUTCOME MEASURES: Scores on the Brief Symptom Inventory, Heart Disease Hassles Scale, Coping Strategies Inventory, Miller Intimacy Scale, and McMaster Family Assessment Device were used as outcome measures. RESULTS: Two hundred thirteen female spouses of patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation participated in this study. Sixty-six percent of the spouses met the criteria for distress. This was more common in younger spouses (51.99 +/- 9.94 years) than in older spouses (55. 74 +/- 10.54 years) (t = -2.45; P =.013). Distressed spouses used disengagement coping strategies significantly more than the nondistressed spouses (t = 6.91; P =.0001). Distressed spouses also reported significantly less intimacy in their marriages (t = -3.99; P =.0001) and poorer family functioning (t = 5.86; P =.0001). The most prevalent symptoms of psychologic distress included feeling tense, having trouble falling asleep and feeling easily hurt. The most prevalent stressors were as follows: (1) worries about treatment, recovery, and prognosis (75.5%); (2) moodiness of the patient (66.7%); (3) worries about the patient returning to work and about money (38.8%); (4) sexual concerns (36.7%); and (5) helplessness or apathy on the part of the patient and increased spousal responsibility (36.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Spouses of patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation should be screened for psychologic distress, and those in distress should be offered interventions focused on assisting them to deal with specific stressors related to their experience with a spouse with heart disease. Interventions indicated include stress-management techniques and encouraging the use of engagement coping strategies. In addition, marital and family concerns need to be directly addressed in support interventions.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2005

A comparative study on attitudes, towards the provision of out-of-hours care, of the spouses of general practitioners participating, or not, in a rural out-of-hours co-op.

Qualitative research has suggested that the stress of general practice, and that of out-of-hours care in particular, has an impact on general practitioners' (GPs') spouses. The effects on the families of practitioners, of the introduction of out-of-hours co-operatives has not been extensively studied. Our objective was to compare, between the spouses of GPs participating or not in a rural co-op, the effects of out-of-hours commitments on personal and family life. The spouses of all 125 GPs in a rural region in Ireland were sent questionnaires; 59 GPs were members of an out-of-hours co-op, 66 were engaged in traditional on-call rotas. Most questions were in statement form, to which participants were required to respond on a five point Likert rating scale. The response rate was 67%. Non-co-op spouses were significantly older than co-op spouses (48.3 years versus 42.6, t(68)=-3.02, p=0.04). 80% of the co-op group favoured a co-op for on-call cover as compared to 46% of the non-co-op group. The majority of respondents from both groups agreed that they dislike when their spouse is on call and that time spent on-call placed a strain on family life and was detrimental to their spouse's health. Spouses of non-co-op general practitioners were more likely to agree that their home life was interrupted by patients telephoning the house (z=-3.06, p=0.002) and by patients calling to the door without a prior appointment (z=2.9, p=0.004). They were also more likely to worry about the safety of their spouse on call (z=-2.07, p=0.038). The general provision of out-of-hours care has a significant impact on the spouses and families of GPs participating, or not, in a rural co-op. Spouses of participants in co-ops had significantly less interruptions to their home life from patients and worried less about the safety of their spouse. The implications of these findings on the recruitment and retention of rural practitioners merits further discussion.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Disclosure between patients with gastrointestinal cancer and their spouses.

This study examined patterns of disclosure about cancer-related concerns between patients with GI cancer and their spouses, and associations between patient and spouse disclosure and patient adjustment, spouse adjustment, and aspects of relationship functioning. A sample of 47 patients and 45 of their spouses completed a measure of disclosure which included ratings of their level of disclosure and level of holding back from disclosure of cancer-related concerns. Patients completed a measure of quality of life, spouses completed a measure of caregiver strain, and all participants completed measures of psychological distress and relationship functioning (intimacy, empathy, and partner avoidance and criticism). Data analyses revealed that patients and spouses reported moderately high levels of disclosure and low levels of holding back, with patients reporting higher levels of disclosure than spouses. Among patients and spouses, low levels of disclosure and high levels of holding back were associated with poorer relationship functioning. There were also some indications that high levels of holding back, and to a lesser extent low levels of disclosure, were associated with increased psychological distress for both patients and spouses. However, there were no indications that patient or spouse disclosure was harmful for the other person. Considered overall, the results of this study suggest that levels of disclosure between cancer patients and their spouses may be important in understanding how they adjust as a couple to the demands of the patient's illness.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2003

Predictors of life satisfaction in retired physicians and spouses.

BACKGROUND: With the current demographic changes, adjustment to retirement has become a major concern for physicians. Yet information on adjustment to retirement gathered from retired physicians is sparse. Information on physician spouses following retirement is currently not available. Therefore, we conducted a survey of a multi-disciplinary group of retired physicians and their spouses on adjustment to retirement. METHODS: A mail survey was sent to 1834 alumni who graduated from medical school prior to 1965. Responses were received from 795 (43 %) physicians and 455 spouses. Of the physicians, 678 indicated that they were retired or semi-retired. Life satisfaction was measured on a 9-point Likert scale. RESULTS: Levels of life satisfaction were high for both physicians and spouses. Approximately 88 % of both groups reported being mostly satisfied or better with their lives. Factors associated with better life satisfaction for physicians included better health, optimism, feelings of financial security, participation in activities and hobbies and a good sexual relationship. For spouses, good health, having a husband willing to help with chores, quality of relationships including sexual relationship and attending theatre or sporting events were associated with higher levels of life satisfaction. Spouses who had never worked reported higher levels of life satisfaction than spouses who had worked and were now retired. For changes in life satisfaction since physician retirement, predictors for both physicians and spouses were similar to those for life satisfaction. However, for physicians, both younger age and more years in retirement were independently associated with improved life satisfaction. Issues regarding loss of role and methods and reasons for retirement influenced satisfaction in the early retirees. For spouses, major challenges involved coping with changes in the marital relationship. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians and their spouses reported high levels of life satisfaction. The factors predicting life satisfaction and change in life satisfaction following retirement differed for physicians and spouses. For physicians, life satisfaction and change in life satisfaction were affected by time since retirement.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2004

Quality of life and stress response symptoms in long-term and recent spouses of testicular cancer survivors.

The aim of this study was to gain insight into the quality of life (QoL) and stress response of female spouses of men cured of testicular cancer in the long-term. Time since treatment completion varied from 0.5 to 23.8 years. Two hundred and fifty nine testicular cancer survivors and their spouses completed the Dutch version of the MOS Short Form (SF)-36 and the Impact of Event Scale. QoL data from a reference group of women were used for comparison. Spouses who had relationship with the testicular cancer survivor before the diagnosis (spouses during testicular cancer) had better functioning scores than the reference group, especially with respect to the physical QoL domains. Spouses who had started a relationship after treatment (spouses after testicular cancer) experienced more problems with psychological QoL domains than spouses during testicular cancer and than the reference group. The stress response of spouses during testicular cancer was related to that of the testicular cancer survivors and to the extent of treatment they had received. Although stress response levels were low, spouses during testicular cancer reported more stress response than the testicular cancer survivors. Time since completion of treatment did not affect QoL or stress response. This study showed that spouses during testicular cancer had a good QoL and little stress response. Functioning of spouses after testicular cancer was poorer with respect to various QoL domains, particularly the psychological measures.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Spouse caregivers of terminally-ill cancer patients as cancer patients: a pilot study in a palliative care unit.

OBJECTIVE: It is known that families of terminally-ill cancer patients show levels of emotional and functional disruption and are called "second order patients," however, little is actually known about the health problems of family members, especially in terms of cancer. METHODS: This study reviewed the family histories of terminally-ill cancer patients in a palliative care unit and investigated cancer related health problems of the spouses of terminally-ill cancer patients. RESULTS: We investigated the past medical history of 125 spouses of terminally-ill cancer patients and found that five spouses had a past medical history of cancer. In these five spouses, the duration of illness, present status of treatment and physical condition were reviewed from the database. Of these five spouses, three patients continued to attend an outpatient clinic regularly for checkup and one patient was hospitalized for nephrectomy. Two spouses did not have physical symptoms that made them unable to provide direct care for the terminally-ill spouses, while three could not provide care because of their own physical symptoms derived from cancer. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Our findings indicated that some of the spouses of terminally-ill cancer patients are not only "second order patients" but also "cancer patients." Our findings also suggest that some spouses of terminally-ill cancer patients might experience distress both as a cancer patient and as a spouse and may need care both as a cancer patient and as a spouse.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Is it contagious? Affect similarity among spouses.

Theories of emotional contagion suggest that spouses mutually experience affective or emotional states. However, empirical support for this theory is limited. Using a dyadic approach, this study examines affect similarity of depressive symptoms between elders with vision impairment and their spouses. As part of an investigation on older couples dealing with disability, 123 elders dealing with a recent vision loss and their spouses were interviewed. Guided by a stress process model, predictors of spouse depressive symptoms were examined. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the spouse's race, health, care-giving appraisal, self-efficacy, conflict with other family members regarding their partner, and their partner's depressive symptoms significantly predicted spouse depression. Specifically, spouses who were white, in poorer health, experienced more care-giving burden, had more family conflict, and poorer self-efficacy, were more likely to be depressed. Entered in the final step, elder depression uniquely contributed to the prediction of spouse depression. This points to affect similarity among spouses, which suggests that when one spouse is depressed, the other spouse is likely to experience a similar depressive symptomatology.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2003

Are spouses of patients with type 2 diabetes at increased risk of developing diabetes?

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether spouses of patients with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of diabetes compared with spouses of subjects with normal glucose tolerance. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A random sample of spouses of patients with type 2 diabetes (group 1S) attending a general practice diabetes clinic was compared with spouses of nondiabetic subjects (as determined by oral glucose tolerance test [OGTT]) (group 2S). Spouses in both groups underwent OGTT, fasting lipid profile, and blood pressure (BP) measurements. RESULTS: A total of 245 subjects in group 1S and 234 subjects in group 2S underwent OGTT. Group 1S had a significantly higher incidence of fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, or type 2 diabetes (19.1 vs. 9.4%). Group 1S also had higher fasting glucose and triglyceride levels, higher BMI, and a trend toward higher BP. Multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusted for BMI and age, showed the risk of diabetes in the spouse of a patient with diabetes was 2.11 (95% CI 1.74-5.1), as compared with the spouse of a subject with normal glucose tolerance. Similarly, the risk of any degree of glucose intolerance in a spouse of a patient with type 2 diabetes was 2.32 (1.87-3.98), as compared with a spouse of a subject with normal glucose tolerance. CONCLUSIONS: Spouses of patients with type 2 diabetes have a significantly increased risk of glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes, and they should be classified as high risk for diabetes. This finding has implications for screening programs, which should include spouses of subjects with diabetes.

Blood Glucose↗

PubMed1987

The role of spouse reinforcement, perceived pain, and activity levels of chronic pain patients.

Levels of pain, activity, marital satisfaction, and contingent reinforcement for expressions of pain and suffering were assessed in chronic pain patients. In addition, spouses' marital satisfaction, mood, life control, and self-reported responses to the patient's pain were examined. Multiple regression analyses revealed that spouse reinforcement of overt expressions of pain was significantly related to both perceived pain and activity levels of chronic pain patients. The best predictor of patients' pain and activity levels was patients' perception of spouse reinforcement, followed by spouses' self-reported responses to the patients' pain. Spouse reinforcement of pain was not associated with spouses' marital satisfaction or perception of patients' pain levels. Rather, spouse reinforcement was associated with high interference of patients' pain with spouses' lives, spouses' positive mood, spouses' perception of more life control, as well as longer duration of the pain problem. The data support the importance of the spouse as a potential source of reinforcement of pain behavior.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

The impact of gender regarding psychological well-being and general life situation among spouses of stroke patients during the first year after the patients' stroke event: a longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: The informal caregivers perceive lack of choice to take on the role of caregiving, receiving little or no preparation for the caregiving role at home. The typical informal caregiver is female, either a spouse or adult child of the care recipient, and seldom shares the responsibilities of caregiving with other family members. The spouses worry about the ill relative, but also about what consequences the disease might have for their own life. The worries seem to vary with gender and disease. There are, to our knowledge, few previous longitudinal studies that have focused on gender differences among spouses of stroke patients. OBJECTIVES: To explore gender differences among spouses in perceived psychological well-being and general life situation, during the first year after the patients' stroke event. DESIGN: Longitudinal study with three assessments regarding psychological well-being and general life situation during 1 year. SETTINGS: The study took place at a stroke ward, Stockholm, Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: Consecutively 80 female and 20 male spouses of stroke patients admitted to a stroke unit participated. METHODS: Data were analysed using analyses of variance. RESULTS: Female spouses have a negative impact on psychological well-being, while male spouses have a lower occurrence of emotional contacts in their social network. Consistently, the female spouses reported lower quality of life and well-being than the male spouses. CONCLUSIONS: This study generates the hypotheses that there are gender differences among spousal caregivers of stroke patients; female spouses are more negatively affected in their life situation due to the patients' stroke event than the male spouses. It is important to take the individual differences under consideration when designing a nursing intervention, to meet the different needs and demands of male and female caregivers. The interventions should focus on individual support, so that the caregivers can adapt to their new role and be comfortable and effective as informal caregivers.

Female↗

PubMed1986

Spouse burnout syndrome.

In married couples, chronic illness in one partner can result in increased responsibilities for the spouse and lead to spouse burnout. Burnout has been described as a syndrome encompassing both physical and emotional symptoms. The literature has addressed the burnout syndrome experienced by health care professionals but few articles have addressed burnout in spouses of chronically ill persons. During a preliminary study of 30 chronically ill persons and their spouses, the following two questions were raised: Were the manifestations of the spouses similar to the indications of burnout exhibited by health professionals? and What factors in the home where one member was chronically ill contributed to the spouse's burnout? The three stages of burnout were examined. The emotional and physical symptoms of burnout in the first and second stages were very similar to symptoms identified in the spouses of our preliminary study. The spouses in our study did not exhibit signs or symptoms of the third stage. Three home situations were extrapolated from the study group in order to examine in depth specific examples of spouse burnout. Nurses have a responsibility to care for the spouse caregiver as well as the patient. The nurse must recognize behaviour which may be indicative of burnout syndrome. With this knowledge, the nurse is then better prepared to assist the spouse in prevention and/or early recognition and plan interventions accordingly.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Perceptions about perceived functional disabilities and pain of people with rheumatoid arthritis: differences between patients and their spouses and correlates with well-being.

OBJECTIVE: In this study we examined the differences in perceptions of the patient's health status between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and their spouses, and correlates of these differences with patients' and spouses' well-being. METHODS: A sample of 188 couples with one member receiving treatment for RA were selected from the rheumatology clinics in Twente, The Netherlands. The mean age of both RA patients and spouses was 56 years. Respondents completed questionnaires, including estimations of both patients and spouses on the patient's functional disabilities and pain, and scales on affect and marital commitment for patients and spouses. RESULTS: Differences in estimations of patients and spouses were considerable. Both over- and underestimations of the patient's functional disabilities by the spouse were associated with the patient's poorer mental health status. Overestimations of the patient's functional disabilities were associated with poorer mental health among spouses. CONCLUSION: It is essential that any support intended by the spouse is in accordance with the patient's needs. If the patient's condition is misperceived by the spouse, this can lead to ineffective and inappropriate support being given.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2000

Identified spouse abuse as a risk factor for child abuse.

CONTEXT: There are limited data on the extent to which spouse abuse in a family is a risk factor for child abuse. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the subsequent relative risk of child abuse in families with a report of spouse abuse compared with other families. DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: Analysis of a centralized US Army database PARTICIPANTS: Married couples with children with at least one spouse on active duty in the US Army during 1989-95. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The US Army Family Advocacy Program's Central Database was used to identify child and spouse abuse. The exposure was an episode of identified spouse abuse and the main outcome was a substantiated episode of subsequent child abuse. RESULTS: During the study period of an estimated 2,019,949 person years, 14,270 incident child abuse cases were substantiated. Families with an incident case of spouse abuse identified during the study period were twice as likely to have a substantiated report of child abuse compaired with other military families, rate ratio, 2.0, (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.9-2.1). Young parental age had the highest rate ratio, 4.9 (95% CI 4.5-5.3) in the subgroup analysis controlling for rank. Identified spouse abuse was associated with physical abuse of a child, rate ratio 2.4 (95% CI 2.2-2.5), and with sexual abuse of a child, rate ratio 1.5 (95% CI 1.3-1.7). Identified spouse abuse was not associated with child neglect or maltreatment, rate ratio, 1.0 95% CI 0.9-1.1) CONCLUSION: An identified episode of spouse abuse in a family appears to be associated with an increased risk of subsequent child abuse and serves as an independent risk factor. Therefore. care providers should consider the potential risk to children when dealing with spouse abuse.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Spouse stressors while awaiting heart transplantation.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to identify common stressors experienced by spouses of heart transplantation (HT) candidates; to identify differences in stressors among spouses of HT candidates based on selected demographic variables; and to report preliminary psychometric data on the newly developed Spouse Transplant Stressor Scale. DESIGN: Comparative, cross-sectional survey. SAMPLE: Spouses of 85 HT candidates awaiting HT at midwestern and southeastern medical centers and a midwestern Department of Veterans Affairs hospital. MEASURES: Spouse Transplant Stressor Scale (Collins), an investigator-developed rating form and demographic data sheet. RESULTS: Spouses of HT candidates reported high levels of stress during the wait for a donor heart. Factors related directly to the transplantation experience were rated as the most stressful. Fear that the patient (partner) would die before a heart became available was the worst stressor for the spouses. Working spouses perceived more stressors related to responsibility, socioeconomics, and self. Stressors associated with the transplantation process itself were equally stressful for spouses who work and spouses who do not work.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Living with heart failure: depression and quality of life in patients and spouses.

BACKGROUND: Although spouses are a key support for patients with heart failure, and help them remain in the community, no one has studied patient-spouse pairs to determine the nature of their experience. Therefore, we conducted a study of patients and spouses to compare their levels of depression and health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and to identify factors that contribute to depression and HRQOL in patient-spouse pairs. METHODS: Forty-eight couples, in which all patients were men with heart failure, were recruited from a university-affiliated, outpatient heart failure clinic. Data were collected using the Beck Depression Inventory, the 12-item Short Form (that measures physical and mental components of QOL), and the 6-minute walk test. RESULTS: Patients with heart failure were significantly more depressed and had poorer physical quality of life compared with spouses. Patients' depression was correlated with their own functional status and mental quality of life, with the combination of 6-minute walk distance and mental QOL contributing 51% of the variance in patient depression. Spouse depression and HRQOL did not significantly influence patient depression. In contrast, spouses' depression was related to their husbands' functional status and employment, as well as their own mental QOL. The mental component of spouse QOL and the age of the patient accounted for 33% of the adjusted variance in spousal depression. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with heart failure and their spouses experience significantly different levels of depression and physical QOL. In developing interventions, it may be important to take these differences into account and focus on their unique needs as well as those issues that affect the couple together. Interventions that improve patient functional status may result in decreased depression and improved HRQOL on the part of both patients and spouses.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1999

The concerns of patients and spouses after the diagnosis of colon cancer: a qualitative analysis.

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to describe the concerns of patients and their spouses after a diagnosis of colon cancer and to identify ways in which health care professionals could assist both patients and their spouses to cope more effectively with this illness and its treatment. DESIGN: Descriptive, cross-sectional study. SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Thirty patients with colon cancer and their spouses completed interviews in their homes. Most patients (83%) had undergone partial colon resection, and 77% had no evidence of cancer in adjacent lymph nodes. Twelve of the patients (40%) had a colostomy at the time the data were collected. METHODS: Patients and spouses participated in semistructured interviews that elicited information concerning their reactions to a diagnosis of colon cancer, to a colostomy (if present), to changes in lifestyle, to their satisfaction with information they received, and to ways that health care professionals could assist them with the illness and treatments. Content analysis was used to analyze the interview data and to group data into inductively derived categories. Interrater reliability was obtained by having 2 researchers independently code the data. RESULTS: Spouses tended to regard a colon cancer diagnosis more negatively than did patients. Both patients and spouses reported that fear of cancer's recurrence was their greatest concern. Most also reported lifestyle changes (80%) as a result of the illness; but the patients reported more changes in their functional ability, whereas spouses reported more changes in their roles and relationships. Half of the patients and most of the spouses (75%) reported a favorable reaction to the colostomy. Approximately half of the couples expressed satisfaction with the information they received; they reported a need for more information about treatments and management of side effects. When asked how professionals could help them, most couples stated that they wanted more information about the expected course of recovery. CONCLUSION: Spouses should be included in health assessment and teaching because they regard the illness more negatively than do patients. Both patients and spouses desire information that will help them to understand the typical course of recovery, assist them to plan for lifestyle changes, and enable them to manage the side effects of treatment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗