Although prostate cancer is prevalent, little information is available on how it affects patients’ and partners’ quality of life according to their age cohort. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to determine if the quality of life (QOL) of men with prostate cancer and their partners differs according to age cohort: 50-64 (young old); 65-74 (middle old); and 75 and above (old old), and 2) to determine if patients’ and partners’ self-efficacy, current stressors, symptom distress and appraisal of illness differs according to age cohort. McCubbin and McCubbin’s Family Stress, Adjustment, and Adaptation Framework (1993) guided this study; it focuses on the additive effect of normative (developmental stage) and non-normative stressors (illness) on the couple's ability to adapt. A descriptive design was used to compare data obtained from 69 patients and their partners (n=23 dyads per age cohort) using secondary data from an intervention study. Data was obtained from baseline assessments using multiple standardized instruments with adequate reliability and validity. ANOVA and MANOVA was used to determine differences among age groups. Findings indicated that patients in the middle group (65-74) had a better physical and mental QOL and higher self-efficacy than the younger group; they also had less negative appraisal of illness than the other age groups. Partners in the middle group perceived less bother with hormonal symptoms than the other groups. Partners in the youngest age group reported the most disturbances with sexual changes in their husbands. Implications suggest that interventions may need to be tailored to couples’ developmental stage.
Session #1207 - Oncology: & Quality of Life
The 29th Annual MNRS Research Conference (April 1-4, 2005)