Relationship factors and couples' engagement in sun protection.

Individuals may be more motivated to adopt health practices if they consider the benefits of these behaviors for their close relationships. The goal of this study was to examine couple concordance with sun protection and use the interdependence and communal coping theory to evaluate the role of relationship factors in sun protection. One hundred and eighty-four married couples aged 50 years and older completed measures of objective skin cancer risk, perceived risk, sun protection benefits, relationship-centered motivations for sun protection, discussions about sun protection, and sun protection. A mediational model was evaluated. Results indicated a high level of couple concordance. Partners who adopted a relationship-centered motivation for sun protection were more likely to discuss sun protection with one another, and partners who discussed sun protection together were more likely to engage in sun protection. One partner's attitude about personal risk and sun protection benefits was associated with the other partner's sun protection. Wives had higher relationship-centered motivation and discussed sun protection more with their husbands. Behavioral interventions may benefit from encouraging couples to discuss sun protection and encouraging married individuals to consider the benefits of sun protection for their relationship and for their spouse's health.

Value for the future and preventive health behavior.

Many everyday decisions require trade-offs between immediate and delayed benefits. Although much research has assessed discounting of delayed outcomes by using hypothetical scenarios, little research has examined whether these discounting measures correspond to real-world behavior. Three studies examined the relationship between scenario measures of time preference and preventive health behaviors that require an upfront cost to achieve a long-term benefit. Responses to time preference scenarios showed weak or no relationship to influenza vaccination, adherence to a medication regimen to control high blood pressure, and adherence to cholesterol-lowering medication. The finding that scenario measures of time preference have surprisingly little relationship to actual behaviors exemplifying intertemporal trade-offs places limits on the applications of time preference research to the promotion of preventive health behavior.

Predictors of influenza vaccine acceptance among healthy adults.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies investigating predictors of influenza vaccine acceptance have focused on high-risk patients or health care workers. Few studies have examined flu shot acceptance among healthy adults in workplace settings, even though influenza vaccine is recommended for this group as well. METHODS: Two studies investigated predictors of flu vaccine acceptance in workplace samples of healthy adults. In the first study, 79 university employees were interviewed, while in the second, 435 corporate employees completed a questionnaire. RESULTS: In the first study, flu shot acceptance was predicted by perceived effectiveness of the vaccine (r = 0.36), perceived likelihood of vaccine side effects (r = -0.32), and having received the shot in the previous year (r = 0.25). In the second study, flu shot acceptance was again predicted by perceived effectiveness (r = 0.49), likelihood of side effects (r = -0.31), and previous flu shot (r = 0.66) and was also related to older age (r = 0.10) and to predicted percentage of co-workers who also received the shot (r = 0.24). CONCLUSIONS: The current studies indicate that predictors of vaccine acceptance among healthy adults are similar to those identified in studies of high-risk patient populations and health care workers.

Time preferences and preventive health behavior: acceptance of the influenza vaccine.

BACKGROUND: Many preventive health behaviors involve immediate costs and delayed benefits. Time preference is the extent to which decision makers value future outcomes relative to immediate ones. Consequently, people with future-oriented time preferences should be more likely to adopt preventive measures. The relationship between time preferences and acceptance of a free influenza vaccination was examined. SAMPLE: The participants were 412 corporate employees who were offered free influenza vaccinations at their workplace. MEASURES: Participants' time preferences were measured in each of two domains: money and health. They also reported on whether they had accepted the influenza vaccination and their beliefs and attitudes about the vaccine. RESULTS: There was a small (OR = 2.38) relationship of vaccination acceptance to monetary time preferences but not to the health time-preference measures. Other variables, such as perceived effectiveness of the vaccine, were more predictive. CONCLUSION: This study provides some evidence of a small relationship between time preferences and preventive health behavior.