Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Fischer Aggarwal, Brooke

Titel

The role of psychosocial factors in adherence to weight -management behaviors among family members of patients with cardiovascular disease

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations Publishing

Erscheinungsjahr

2008

Link zum Volltext

• ProQuest

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States, and obesity is a well-established risk factor for the development of CVD. Although the lack of social support has also been associated with CVD and body mass index (BMI), the underlying mechanisms are not well-understood. This purpose of this dissertation was to present three separate but related reports on the findings of a randomized, controlled trial designed to test the effectiveness of a lifestyle intervention on family members of patients hospitalized with CVD. The overall investigative theme of the dissertation is the role of psychosocial factors in adherence to weight management behaviors as part of national CVD prevention guidelines. The first paper reports on the correlation between social support and traditional and psychosocial risk factors for CVD, and an evaluation of possible pathways through which different types of social support may reduce CVD risk. The second paper reports on the prevalence of caregiving in the study population, and the observed associations between caregiving and CVD lifestyle and psychosocial risk factors, including social support. The third paper constitutes an examination of the role of low social support as an independent predictor of non-adherence to diet at the 1-year follow-up. Overall, the data from these three reports suggest two important findings: First, that social support may work through lifestyle factors, such as poor diet and lack of physical activity, to reduce CVD risk in family members of patients hospitalized with CVD; and second, the added burden that caregivers of cardiac patients feel may further increase their risk for CVD due to poor lifestyle and psychosocial risk factors. Family members of hospitalized cardiac patients, who themselves have low social support and/or high caregiver strain, represent a unique population to reach out to and may require more intensive and personalized interventions to improve adherence to national prevention guidelines.