Health behaviors

OBJECTIVES: To describe cancer caregivers' participation in health-promoting behaviors and to identify factors influencing participation. SAMPLE & SETTING: 129 informal cancer caregivers at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. METHODS & VARIABLES: Cross-sectional survey methodology using Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II (HPLP-II), PROMIS® Global Physical Health, NIH Toolbox Stress and Self-Efficacy, Caregiver Reaction Assessment, and Family Care Inventory Mutuality subscale.

Background: The mechanism by which social relationships influence health can be interpreted as a social network regulating one's health behaviors. Based on the hypothesis that relatives, friends, or neighbors are sources of social support and may monitor one's health behaviors, researchers have gotten significant and consistent results that a social network can regulate health behaviors.