The structure of lay consultation networks: managing illness in community settings

We examined the structure of lay consultation networks among elderly people.

Data were gathered through interviews with 548 elderly adults living in Florida retirement communities and in Cleveland. Respondents identified people they consulted about symptom or disease information, health worries, what the doctor said, and consulting health providers. Network size, composition, geographic dispersion, gender homogeneity, and division of labor were assessed.

Eighty percent identified at least one network member (range = 1 to 7 consultants). Networks largely consisted of family members, particularly spouses and women. Older adults talked most frequently with network members about physician visits. Widowed individuals were more likely to rely on children and friends and have networks outside their neighborhoods than married elders. Women's networks included a broader range of relationships than men's networks.

Results reaffirmed the importance of gender in structuring networks in late life. The low prevalence of friends supports Cartensen's Selectivity Theory.