Older People Living Well Beyond Cancer: The Relationship Between Emotional Support and Quality of Life

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To investigate the influence of emotional support on the quality of life (QoL) of older cancer survivors.

METHOD:

We use data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing to assess the relationship between perceived emotional support and QoL, comparing people who were cancer survivors ( n = 533) to people without cancer ( n = 8,203).

RESULTS:

Most people reported high emotional support and had good QoL ( M = 42.57, scale = 0-57). However, linear regression modeling showed cancer survivors had on average slightly lower QoL (-2.10 SE = 0.82). Those who reported having low support reported much poorer QoL; this relationship was similar for both cancer survivors and people without cancer.

DISCUSSION:

The impact of low emotional support on QoL compounds with the independent detrimental effect of being a cancer survivor. Interventions that increase emotional support are likely to improve QoL for cancer survivors.

KEYWORDS:

ELSA; cancer; emotional support; older people; quality of life