An examination of predictors of participation in health promotion activities by elderly couples

The elderly overwhelmingly desire to remain functionally independent within the community; diminished functional health is the major cause of loss of independence. Health-promotion strategies are a primary means by which disease can be prevented, and/or its onset delayed; these strategies can be beneficial in the maintenance of functional health. However, the elderly have not been systematically included in health-promotion research. Though individual health experiences are profoundly experienced by family relationships and dynamics, the focus of research has been at the individual level. The aging couple represents an important family unit for study.;Standard regression identified a five-predictor solution which accounted for 31% of the variance: relationship quality, perceived health, education, internal health locus of control, and social support. Structured interviews revealed that joint decision making was used by the majority of couples in making health decisions. Wives tended to be the primary deciders. Most individuals, particularly wives, desired to change something about their spouses' health behavior. Men and women utilized different strategies to influence their spouse.;Study results confirm the importance of including interpersonal variables in health research; the proposed theoretical model was preliminarily supported. The finding that social support, but particularly relationship quality, was strongly predictive of participation in health-promotion activities extends current knowledge. Continued expansion of theory, research, and practice to encompass interpersonal dynamics and a family perspective is recommended.;The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of participation in health-promotion activities by elderly couples. A theoretical model was proposed to guide study which represents a departure from existing models with inclusion of an interpersonal component. Fifty-nine couples who had been married for 35 years or more were recruited through the senior centers of three communities; completed measures of perceived health, health value, health locus of control, social support, relationship quality, spousal influence, and participation in health-promotion activities; and participated in structured interviews designed to describe the process of spousal influence and desire to change spousal behavior.