ASPO Abstracts
Longitudinal dyadic associations between perceived social support and cancer patient and caregiver health: An Actor-Partner Interdependence modeling approach
Category: Survivorship & Health Outcomes/Comparative Effectiveness Research
Conference Year: 2019
Abstract Body:
Purpose: Social support may have a positive impact on health outcomes for patients and caregivers, but the extent to which social support and health outcomes are interrelated for both groups is unknown. This analysis examines the dyadic interrelationships between social support and health among cancer patients and their caregivers. Methods: Data from lung and colorectal cancer (CRC) patient and caregiver dyads were obtained from the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance (CanCORS) Consortium. Patients and caregivers self-reported sociodemographic, social support, and caregiving characteristics at 5-months post-diagnosis (n=218 lung dyads; n=222 CRC dyads) or 12-months post-diagnosis (n=198 lung dyads; n=290 CRC dyads). Structural equation modeling was used to examine actor-partner interdependence models of lung and CRC dyads at 5- and 12-months post-diagnosis. Results: The API models suggest that social support is positively related to patient and caregiver self-reported health across the cancer trajectory, yet in different ways. At 5-months post-diagnosis, no interdependence between patient and caregiver social support was detected for either CRC or lung dyads (all p>0.05). At 12-months post-diagnosis, no interdependence was detected for CRC dyads (all p>0.70); however, lung dyads showed complete interdependence, indicating patient social support is associated with better caregiver self-reported health (β=0.15, p<0.001), and caregiver social support is associated with better patient self-reported health (β=0.18, p<0.001). Conclusions: Social support has a positive impact on patient and caregiver perceived health across the cancer trajectory, and these effects may differ by cancer site and time. Future research and translational efforts are needed to identify effective ways to bolster both patient and caregiver social support, as well as determining critical moments for intervention across cancer sites.
Keywords: patient/caregiver dyads,social support,survivorship,Actor-partner interdependence modeling