Table 3.
Comparison of Younger vs. Older Adults Who Used Conventional Support Services Following a Cancer Diagnosis (N = 836)
| Age <60 years*, n = 610, n(%) | Age ≥60 years*, n = 226, n(%) | p value† | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Did not use | Used, not helpful | Used, helpful | Did not use | Used, not helpful | Used, helpful | ||
| Cancer society services | 245 (41) | 11 (2) | 341 (57) | 101 (46) | 5 (2) | 111 (51) | 0.21 |
| Support groups in community | 418 (70) | 15 (2) | 165 (27) | 169 (76) | 6 (3) | 47 (21) | 0.21 |
| Support groups on internet | 555 (92) | 13 (2) | 36 (6) | 214 (95) | 2 (1) | 8 (3) | 0.18 |
| Counseling services | 438 (72) | 26 (4) | 143 (24) | 190 (85) | 9 (4) | 25 (11) | 0.001 |
| Physical therapy | 487 (80) | 12 (2) | 109 (18) | 191 (86) | 2 (1) | 30 (13) | 0.30 |
| Dietician or nutritionist services | 463 (76) | 20 (3) | 124 (20) | 177 (79) | 4 (2) | 43 (19) | 0.50 |
| In-home help services (cleaning, shopping, etc.) | 489 (81) | 6 (1) | 112 (18) | 178 (80) | 3 (1) | 40 (18) | 0.84 |
| In-home nursing or personal care services | 509 (84) | 2 (0.3) | 94 (16) | 170 (76) | 1 (0.4) | 52 (23) | 0.02 |
*Age at time of cancer diagnosis; †chi-square test for difference among proportions
Groups may not total exactly 100% because percentages above 1.0 are rounded