Family involvement in the care of healthy medical outpatients

Background. Although the involvement of patients' family members in office visits has been examined extensively, less is known about the involvement of family members in supporting patients' medical care outside of office visits. Objective. This study examines two questions: What types of family involvement do family members have in the medical care of relatively healthy older outpatients, and does self-rated health moderate patients' reactions to this family involvement? Methods. Patients from a large sample of medical practice outpatients (N = 1572) were assessed to determine perceived emotional support, involvement of family members in their medical care, as well as the presence of depressive symptoms. Results. Approximately 50% of patients had some family involvement in their medical care (e.g. taking part in medical decisions, reminding the patient to take medication). Marital status was a stronger predictor of family involvement than self-ratings of poor physical health. Additionally, there was no evidence that older patients who report good health have less favourable reactions to family involvement in their medical care. Conclusion. Family involvement in medical care occurs routinely and is most likely to involve a spouse, and is consistent with family interaction patterns among older adults. These findings also suggest that when providers invite family members to support treatment outside the office visit, these invitations are appropriate for older adult patients across a continuum of good to poor health.