Social, marital, and sexual adjustment of Israeli men whose wives were diagnosed with breast cancer.

PURPOSE/

OBJECTIVES

To explore the psychosocial adjustment of Israeli men whose wives were diagnosed with breast cancer.

DESIGN

Descriptive study.

SETTING

An urban tertiary medical center.

SAMPLE: A convenience sample of 50 Israeli men whose wives had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The average age was 53.8 years. All of the men spoke and wrote Hebrew.

METHODS

Husbands completed a demographic and wives' health-related questionnaire, the Social Support Questionnaire to measure social support from their wives, the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale to measure adjustment to a serious disease of the wives, and the Locke Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale to measure marital and sexual adjustment.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Psychosocial adjustment, social support, relationships with their partners, and relationships with the healthcare system.

FINDINGS: A fifth of the men reported various levels of stress and concern. Half described financial difficulties. Three-quarters of the men noted changes in their relationships. More than a third of the husbands experienced a reduction in communication with their families. All of the men expressed satisfaction with the healthcare system, although some of them expressed a need to receive more information.

CONCLUSIONS

Husbands of women with breast cancer grapple with multiple issues on several fronts. They need support and information from the healthcare team even if they do not request it in a timely or direct manner.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Response to the unspoken needs of men whose wives have breast cancer necessitates education and ongoing staff education to develop strategic support and communication.