Higher Well-being Scores Research Articles

Older Nurses' Perceptions of an Electronic Medical Record Implementation.

In Australia, almost 40% of nurses are aged 50 years and older. These nurses may be vulnerable to leaving the workforce due to challenges experienced during electronic medical record (EMR) implementations. This research explored older nurses' perceptions of factors expected to influence their adoption of an EMR, to inform recommendations to support implementation. The objectives were to: 1) measure psychological factors expected to influence older nurses' adoption of the EMR; and 2) explore older nurses' perceptions of facilitators and barriers to EMR adoption. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used to collect survey and focus group data from older nurses, prior to introducing an EMR system. These nurses were highly engaged with their work; 79.3% reported high wellbeing scores. However, their motivation appeared to be predominantly governed by external rather than internal influences. Themes reflecting barriers to EMR and resistance to adoption emerged in the qualitative data.

Deep inferior epigastric perforator free flap in elderly women for breast reconstruction: The experience of a tertiary referral center and a literature review.

A general belief is to consider elderly patients as poor candidates for free flap reconstruction, which does not reflect our 20-year experience for breast reconstruction (BR). The aim of this study was to determine the safety and benefits of BR using deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) free flap in the elderly population. We conducted a retrospective study of all consecutive BRs using DIEP flaps in patients 65years or older at the European Georges Pompidou Hospital from January2011 to December2019. Postoperative complications were reported as minor or major. We used a descriptive approach to analyze the main characteristics of the patients included. Surgical patient-reported outcomes and quality of life were assessed using the validated BREAST-Q questionnaire. Eighty-three DIEP flaps were performed in 79patients (4bilateral flaps) for BR. Sixty-six percent of the patients (52/79) did not present any complication. Total flap loss occurred in 3BR (3.6%), arterial thrombosis in 4BR (4.8%), and venous thrombosis in 8BR (9.6%). The average duration of inpatient stay was 9.5 (±2.7) days. Forty-one of 69eligible patients completed the questionnaire (response rate 59.4%). Patients reported high satisfaction and well-being scores. The mean Q score for psychosocial well-being was 75.4 (±16.7) and 59 (±13.3) for satisfaction with breasts. In our retrospective cohort, DIEP flap BR in elderly population had similar success and complication rates compared with those in younger patients, as well as high satisfaction scores. The free flap should be encouraged for BR in women over 65years of age, and personal motivation as well as physiologicalage considered as main criteria for patient selection.

Associations of park access, park use and physical activity in parks with wellbeing in an Asian urban environment: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundRelationships between park access, park use, and wellbeing remain poorly understood. The objectives of this study were to investigate: (1) perceived and objective park access in relation to park use and physical activity in parks; and; (2) perceived and objective park access, park use and physical activity in parks and their associations with wellbeing.MethodsAn interviewer-assisted survey collected data on perceived time to walk to parks, park use time, park physical activity time and wellbeing (using a scale containing nine domains) amongst adult participants of the Singapore Multi-Ethnic Cohort. Geospatial maps of parks and the “walkable” street networks were created for the city-state of Singapore to objectively determine distances to accessible points on park boundaries. Multiple linear regression models estimated the importance of park access to park use and associations of park access and park use with wellbeing, adjusting for potential confounders.ResultsParticipants’ (n = 3435) average age was 48.8 years (SD, 12.8), 44.8% were male and 72.6% were of Chinese ethnicity. Better perceived but not true park access was significantly associated with greater park use. Park access (perceived or true) was not associated with physical activity time in parks. Greater participant park time and physical activity time in parks were associated with higher wellbeing scores (p < 0.001). The differences in wellbeing scores between the reference groups, who spent negligible time in parks, and the highest quartiles of time in parks (10.8 h/month) and physical activity in parks (8.3 h/month) were 3.2 (95% CI 2.1–4.4) and 4.2 (95% CI 4.1–6.3) points out of 100 respectively. These associations were similar for most domains of wellbeing, with clear dose-response relationships.ConclusionsWhile perceived park access was strongly associated with park use and well-being, true park access was not, and neither park access measure was associated with park physical activity. Future studies could investigate the influence of park attributes on park use, physical activity in parks and wellbeing. The consistent associations of park use and particularly physical activity in parks with wellbeing suggest that promoting park use, and especially physical activity in parks, is a promising strategy for improving wellbeing in urban settings.

Nature's Role in Supporting Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Geospatial and Socioecological Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about unprecedented changes to human lifestyles across the world. The virus and associated social restriction measures have been linked to an increase in mental health conditions. A considerable body of evidence shows that spending time in and engaging with nature can improve human health and wellbeing. Our study explores nature’s role in supporting health during the COVID-19 pandemic. We created web-based questionnaires with validated health instruments and conducted spatial analyses in a geographic information system (GIS). We collected data (n = 1184) on people’s patterns of nature exposure, associated health and wellbeing responses, and potential socioecological drivers such as relative deprivation, access to greenspaces, and land-cover greenness. The majority of responses came from England, UK (n = 993). We applied a range of statistical analyses including bootstrap-resampled correlations and binomial regression models, adjusting for several potential confounding factors. We found that respondents significantly changed their patterns of visiting nature as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. People spent more time in nature and visited nature more often during the pandemic. People generally visited nature for a health and wellbeing benefit and felt that nature helped them cope during the pandemic. Greater land-cover greenness within a 250 m radius around a respondent’s postcode was important in predicting higher levels of mental wellbeing. There were significantly more food-growing allotments within 100 and 250 m around respondents with high mental wellbeing scores. The need for a mutually-advantageous relationship between humans and the wider biotic community has never been more important. We must conserve, restore and design nature-centric environments to maintain resilient societies and promote planetary health.

Physical and Social Neighborhood Environments and Well-Being

Existing research has found effects of neighborhood environment on well-being. However, it is still not clear what features of neighborhood environments affect well-being for older adults and whether the impact of the environment varies depending on the health and economic conditions. In this study, we examined the relations between 4 physical and social neighborhood-context factors, that is, the availability of neighborhood physical resources (e.g. community centers and libraries), the walkability and accessibility, the availability of social resources (e.g. culture and recreation programs, and social care services), and the social inclusion (e.g. participation in decision making, and positive social attitude toward older adults), and individual-level well-being. Moreover, we examined the health and economic disparities of effect of neighborhood environments on well-being. We used data from locally representative longitudinal study of older Japanese aged 74 to 86 (N = 1388). Results from multi-level linear regression showed that after controlling individual variables having inhibitory/facilitatory effects of well-being, the availability of physical resources was associated with higher well-being score. Especially among older adults who had financial strains, the availability of physical environment had a positive effect on well-being more strongly. For older adults who had better physical functions, accessibility and walkability were associated with higher well-being score. The social inclusiveness was associated with higher well-being score among those who had no financial strain. These important findings demonstrate the need for more research exploring the underlying mechanisms. The potential benefits of this approach provide a basis for developing models of maintaining well-being for older adults.

Mental health and its associations with glucose-lowering medication in women with gestational diabetes mellitus. A prospective clinical cohort study

AimsMental health symptoms are frequent in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and may influence glycemic control. We therefore investigated if mental health symptoms (high depression and low well-being scores) predicted a need for glucose-lowering medication and if this use of medication influenced the trajectory of mental health during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. MethodsWe included 341 pregnant women from a cohort of GDM women in a Swiss University Hospital. The World Health Organization Well-being Index-Five was collected at the first and last GDM and at the postpartum clinical visits and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at the first GDM and the postpartum clinical visits. Medication intake was extracted from participants’ medical records. We conducted linear and logistic regressions with depression as an interaction factor. ResultsMental health symptoms did not predict a need for medication (all p ≥ 0.29). Mental health improved over time (both p ≤ 0.001) and use of medication did not predict this change (all p ≥ 0.40). In women with symptoms of depression, medication was associated with less improvement in well-being at the postpartum clinical visit (p for interaction=0.013). ConclusionsMental health and glucose-lowering medication did not influence each other in an unfavourable way in this cohort of women with GDM.

Functional connectivity and quality of life in young adults with cerebral palsy: a feasibility study

BackgroundCerebral Palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect the development of movement and posture. CP results from injuries to the immature brain during the prenatal, perinatal, or postnatal stage of development. Neuroimaging research in CP has focused on the structural changes of the brain during early development, but little is known about brain’s structural and functional changes during late adolescence and early adulthood, a period in time when individuals experience major changes as they transition into adulthood. The work reported here served as a feasibility study within a larger program of research (MyStory Study). We aimed to determine whether it would be feasible to scan and obtain good quality data without the use of sedation during a resting state condition for functional connectivity (FC) analyses in young adults with CP. Second, we aimed to identify the FC pattern(s) that are associated with depressive mood ratings, indices of pain and fatigue, and quality of life in this group.MethodsResting state functional images were collected from 9 young people with CP (18–29 years). We applied a stringent head motion correction and quality control methods following preprocessing.ResultsWe were able to scan and obtain good quality data without the use of sedation from this group of young individuals with CP who demonstrated a range of gross motor ability. The functional connectivity networks of interest were identified in the data using standard seed regions. Our analyses further revealed that higher well-being scores were associated with higher levels of FC between the Medial Pre-Frontal Cortex and the right Lateral Parietal regions, which are implicated in prosocial and emotion regulations skills. The implications of this association are discussed.ConclusionThe findings of the present study demonstrate that it is feasible to conduct resting state functional connectivity in young adults with CP with different gross motor abilities without the use of sedation. Our results also highlight a neural circuitry that is associated with the self-report of quality of life and emotion regulation. These findings identify these regions/circuitries as important seeds for further investigations into mental health and wellbeing in CP.

Well-being and Health among adolescents living in a rural area in Northern Germany (East Friesland) - Result of the WOGE study

Abstract Background Relationship of wellbeing of adolescent and community determinants in rural areas are mainly unknown. The aims of this study is 1) to provide data on wellbeing of adolescents in a rural area, 2) to analyses the association of sociodemographic variables and satisfaction with their community with adolescents` wellbeing. Methods We conducted a representative cross-sectional study (June 2018 - May 2019) in a rural catchment area including adolescents aged 14-18 years. We included socio-demographics (age, gender, education status), and time spent with parents in our study. Additionally, we measured wellbeing with the Ryff wellbeing scale (42 Items) and satisfaction with the community with a self-developed scale (21 Items). Data were analysed with uni- and multivariate linear regression models. Results A total of n = 157 adolescents (n = 82 girls/n=73 boys, age mean=16.7 years) participated in this families health study. The majority (97%/n=152) lived with their parents, and 70% (n = 110) had siblings. Among them were n = 146 adolescents (93%) who are in school-based education, and n = 11 (7%) are under work training education. Overall, adolescents reported high well-being scores (mean=166.78, SD = 32.8, 95%CI=161.24-172.19) and high satisfaction with their community (mean=13.67, SD = 1.63, 95%CI=13.45-14.03). Surprisingly, adolescents loved to spend time with their parents. Multivariate analyses suggest no significant associations of age (p-value=0,565), gender (p-value=0.961), education status (p-value=0.271) with well-being. However, community satisfaction is associated with well-being (p-value=0,006). Conclusions Sociodemographic variables were not associated with adolescents' satisfaction but with well-being in this rural community. A potential explanation might be that adolescents rely on their families rather than the wider community. Further studies are necessary to investigate the role of family relations in explaining the high well-being of this population.

Subjective well-being of the informal workers: an empirical study from Hooghly district of West Bengal, India

Based on primary data from urban and rural informal workers in Hooghly district of India, the paper attempts to explore the welfare of informal workers using the concept of subjective well-being. Subjective well-being is conceptualised through two broad dimensions-psychological well-being and life satisfaction. An individual-specific composite index is constructed to quantify subjective well-being followed by a series of regression analysis on the constructed indices. The findings suggest income to be a strong positive influencer of overall subjective well-being as well as life satisfaction and psychological well-being of informal workers. But a segregated analysis reveals that factors influencing subjective well-being distinctly differ across rural and urban workers. Rural workers tend to have higher well-being score than their urban counterpart and income does not have significant effect on their subjective well-being. Also, regular wage-earners tend to score higher in overall subjective wellbeing as well as life satisfaction than self-employed and casual labours.

Prophylactic nipple-sparing mastectomy in young previvors: Examining decision-making, reconstructive outcomes, and patient satisfaction in BRCA+ patients under 30.

Bilateral prophylactic mastectomies (BPM) in young previvors with high-risk mutations are rising; however, little data on management, therapy timing, and outcomes exist. BRCA+ patients under 30 undergoing BPM from 2006 to 2018 were reviewed. Twenty-two patients aged 23-29 underwent mastectomy 4.2years after genetic diagnosis. Twelve patients completed surveys, most often citing personal decisions (50%) for undergoing mastectomy and plastic surgeons' recommendations (83.3%) for reconstruction. About 73% of patients completely understood risks/benefits of mastectomy and 63.6% of reconstruction. Patients reported high BREAST-Q Satisfaction and Well-Being scores. Continued educational resource development will optimize shared decision-making in the reconstructive process.

WHO, ME, WORRIED?: A LOOK AT BRAIN HEALTH AND STRESS AMONG RESIDENTS IN GEOGRAPHICALLY DIFFERENT AREAS

The 2018 AARP Brain Health and Mental Well-Being Survey reveals Millennials (age 22 to 37) have the highest level of stress while those in the Silent/Greatest Generation (over 73) have the lowest. Adults in their 50s and beyond have higher average mental well-being scores compared to younger adults. On a scale of mental well-being with an average score of 52, the average well-being for those age 18-39 is about 50, compared to about 54 for those 60 and older. This presentation will highlight generational difference in mental well-being and will examine community difference for older adults particularly those who reside in metropolitan areas compared to non-metropolitan areas.

Brainwave Self-Regulation During Bispectral IndexTM Neurofeedback in Trauma Center Nurses and Physicians After Receiving Mindfulness Instructions.

Fifty-seven level I trauma center nurses/physicians participated in a 4-day intervention to learn relaxed alertness using mindfulness-based instructions and EEG neurofeedback. Neurofeedback was provided by a Bispectral IndexTM (BIS) system that continuously displays a BIS value (0–100) on the monitor screen. Reductions in the BIS value indicate that power in a high-frequency band (30–47 Hz) is decreased and power in an intermediate band (11–20 Hz) is increased. A wellbeing tool with four positive affect and seven negative affect items based on a 5-category Likert scale was used. The wellbeing score is the sum of the positive affect items (positive affect score) and the reverse-scored negative affect items (non-stress score). Of functional concern were four negative affect items rated as moderately, quite a bit, or extremely in a large percent. Of greater concern were all four positive affect items rated as very slightly or none at all, a little, or moderately in over half of the participants. Mean and nadir BIS values were markedly decreased during neurofeedback when compared to baseline values. Post-session relaxation scores were higher than pre-session relaxation scores. Post-session relaxation scores had an inverse relationship with mean and nadir BIS values. Mean and nadir BIS values were inversely associated with NFB cognitive states (i.e., widening the visual field, decreasing effort, attention to space, and relaxed alertness). For all participants, the wellbeing score was higher on day 4 than on day 1. Participants had a higher wellbeing score on day 4 than a larger group of nurses/physicians who did not participate in the BIS neurofeedback trial. Eighty percent of participants demonstrated an improvement in the positive affect or non-stress score on day 4, when compared to day 1; the wellbeing, non-stress, and positive affect scores were substantially higher on day 4 than on day 1. Additionally, for that 80% of participants, the improvements in wellbeing and non-stress were associated with reductions in day 3 BIS values. These findings indicate that trauma center nurses/physicians participating in an EEG neurofeedback trial with mindfulness instructions had improvements in wellbeing.Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT03152331. Registered May 15, 2017.

Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between psychosocial well-being and sleep in European children and adolescents.

Research on associations of positive mental health, in contrast to mental ill-health, with sleep duration and sleep disturbances in young populations is scarce. In particular, longitudinal studies focussing on the influence of positive mental health on sleep characteristics are lacking. Therefore, we investigated cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of psychosocial well-being with sleep duration and sleep disturbances. For the cross-sectional analysis, we used data of 3-15-year-old children and adolescents participating in the 2013/14 examination of the European IDEFICS/I.Family cohort study (N = 6,336). The longitudinal analysis was restricted to children who also participated in the 2009/10 examination (N = 3,379). Associations between a psychosocial well-being score created from 16 items of the KINDLR Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire covering emotional well-being, self-esteem and social relationships, an age-standardized nocturnal sleep duration z-score and two sleep disturbance indicators ("trouble getting up in the morning", "difficulties falling asleep") were estimated using linear and logistic mixed-effects models. Cross-sectionally, a higher well-being score was associated with longer sleep duration and lower odds of sleep disturbances. A positive change in the well-being score over the 4-year period was associated with longer sleep duration and lower odds of sleep disturbances at follow-up. However, there was only weak evidence that higher psychosocial well-being at baseline was associated with better sleep 4 years later. Thus, our results suggest that increases in well-being are associated with improvements in both sleep duration and sleep disturbances, but that well-being measured at one point in time does not predict sleep characteristics several years later.

The association between women's sanitation experiences and mental health: A cross-sectional study in Rural, Odisha India

Emerging qualitative research suggests women’s sanitation experiences may impact mental health. However, specific associations remain unclear. We aimed to determine if sanitation access and sanitation experiences were associated with mental health among women in rural Odisha, India. Using a cross-sectional design, we evaluated the association between sanitation access and sanitation experiences and selected mental health outcomes. Data were collected from 1347 randomly selected women across four life course stages in 60 rural communities (December 2014-February 2015). Our four primary outcomes included: mental well-being, and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and distress. The primary exposures were (1) access to a functional latrine within the household compound and (2) sanitation insecurity (SI), evaluated using a seven domain measure assessing women’s negative sanitation experiences and concerns. We used hierarchical linear modeling to determine associations between the exposures and mental health outcomes, adjusting for covariates (life stage, poverty, current health status, social support). Mean well-being scores were moderate and mean anxiety, depression, and distress scores were above a threshold indicating the potential presence of any of the three conditions. Access to a functional household latrine was associated with higher well-being scores, but not with anxiety, depression or distress. Women’s SI domains were associated with all four outcomes: four domains were significantly associated with lower well-being scores, two were significantly associated with higher anxiety scores, three were significantly associated with higher depression scores, and three were significantly associated with higher distress scores, all independent of functional household latrine access. Women in rural Odisha, India may suffer assaults to their well-being and have higher symptoms of anxiety, depression, and distress when urinating and defecating, even if they have an available facility. These findings suggest that sanitation-related interventions should consider how to accommodate women’s experiences beyond excreta management to comprehensively impact health.

The influence of school sense of community on students’ well‐being: A multilevel analysis

Previous studies have demonstrated the role of students' school sense of community (i.e., emotional connection and bonds with other students at school and sense of belonging to the school as a community) in predicting well-being (presence of positive feelings and positive functioning in life). Specifically, these studies have found that individual sense of community in the school is associated with well-being. However, individual sense of community in the school does not constitute a school-level characteristic, and the influence of sense of community at the school level on students' well-being was not investigated. To address this gap in the literature, we conducted a study investigating the influence of sense of community at the school level on students' well-being, using multilevel analysis. Our sample comprised 1,800 students (age ranged from 11 to 20 years) from public lower and upper secondary schools in Italy. Results showed that higher sense of community scores at the school level were associated with higher well-being scores, while controlling for individual sense of community, gender, and age. These results provide support for a school-level theory of school sense of community (i.e., moving school sense of community theory from the individual to the school level).

Visits to urban green-space and the countryside associate with different components of mental well-being and are better predictors than perceived or actual local urbanisation intensity

Maintaining mental well-being in highly urbanised locations, especially large cities, is challenging but exposure to green-space can promote well-being. We address three poorly resolved questions concerning the relationships between mental health, urbanisation and green-space: i) the relative importance of city size, local intensity of urbanisation and visiting green-space, ii) if visits to urban green-space and the countryside have equivalent associations with well-being, and iii) if biodiversity knowledge moderates relationships between well-being and visiting green-space (such moderation may occur if exposure to biodiversity contributes to relationships between visiting green-space and well-being). We use data from just over 200 respondents recruited in randomised door-to-door surveys across six English cities. We find that visiting green-space increases mental well-being but that city size and the intensity of urbanisation around respondents’ homes have negligible influence. The limited effect of local urbanisation holds when considering the perceived amount of greenery or built-up land rather than objectively quantified indices. More frequent visits to the countryside and urban green-space are positively associated with higher well-being scores, but visits to urban green-space are more strongly associated with lower anxiety, whilst countryside visits associate with higher life satisfaction. Biodiversity knowledge did not consistently moderate relationships between well-being and green-space visit rates. Whilst we use a cross-sectional approach our data suggest that mental well-being can be achieved by residents in highly urbanised locations if they frequently access green-space, but achieving high well-being across all its components requires access to the countryside and not just urban green-space.

Genetic correlations between wellbeing, depression and anxiety symptoms and behavioral responses to the emotional faces task in healthy twins

Currently there is a very limited understanding of how mental wellbeing versus anxiety and depression symptoms are associated with emotion processing behaviour. For the first time, we examined these associations using a behavioural emotion task of positive and negative facial expressions in 1668 healthy adult twins. Linear mixed model results suggested faster reaction times to happy facial expressions was associated with higher wellbeing scores, and slower reaction times with higher depression and anxiety scores. Multivariate twin modelling identified a significant genetic correlation between depression and anxiety symptoms and reaction time to happy facial expressions, in the absence of any significant correlations with wellbeing. We also found a significant negative phenotypic relationship between depression and anxiety symptoms and accuracy for identifying neutral emotions, although the genetic or environment correlations were not significant in the multivariate model. Overall, the phenotypic relationships between speed of identifying happy facial expressions and wellbeing on the one hand, versus depression and anxiety symptoms on the other, were in opposing directions. Twin modelling revealed a small common genetic correlation between response to happy faces and depression and anxiety symptoms alone, suggesting that wellbeing and depression and anxiety symptoms show largely independent relationships with emotion processing at the behavioral level.

Measures of a Sustainable Commute as a Predictor of Happiness

The ways in which we travel—by what mode, for how long, and for what purpose—can affect our sense of happiness and well-being. This paper assesses the relationships between measures of the sustainability of transportation systems in U.S. metropolitan areas and subjective well-being. Associations between self-reported happiness levels from the Gallup Healthways Well-being Index and commute data were examined for 187 core-based statistical areas (CBSA). We also supplement this quantitative analysis through brief case studies of high- and low-performing happiness cities. Our quantitative results indicate that regions with higher commute mode shares by non-automobile modes generally had higher well-being scores, even when controlling for important economic predictors of happiness. We also find that pro-sustainable transportation policies can have implications for population-wide happiness and well-being. Our case studies indicate that both high and low scoring happiness cities demonstrate a dedicated commitment to improving sustainable transportation infrastructure. Our study suggests that cities that provide incentives for residents to use more sustainable commute modes may offer greater opportunity for happiness than those that do not.

Engagement is serious leisure as practice for coping with the stress of daily life

ABSTRACTDespite recent low well-being scores, Israel ranked very high on overall life satisfaction (7.1; 0–10 scale), especially compared to the rankings of OECD countries with high well-being scores (6.6, 0–10 scale). To explore whether involvement in “serious leisure” pursuits serves as a strategy for coping with the stresses of daily life in Israel, in-depth interviews were conducted with 63 people involved in yoga, blacksmithing, ceramics and yachting. Findings indicated that participants thought these activities or frameworks would allow them to deal with stressors related to national security or the occupational situation, or could help them overcome social distress related to subpar academic achievements or the repressive effects of the Israeli consumer ethos. Findings revealed three components of leisure motivation: a personal component; a social component and a values component. Expanding on a pre-existing model, I propose a model of the motivations that lead people engage in serious leisure as a means of coping with daily stress.

Phenotypic and molecular characteristics associated with various domains of quality of life in oncology patients and their family caregivers.

Not all oncology patients and their family caregivers (FCs) experience the same quality of life (QOL). The purposes of this study were to identify latent classes of oncology patients (n=168) and their FCs (n=85) with distinct physical, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being trajectories from prior to through 4months after the completion of radiation therapy and to evaluate for demographic, clinical, and genetic characteristics that distinguished between these latent classes. Using growth mixture modeling, two latent classes were found for three (i.e., physical, psychological, and social well-being) of the four QOL domains evaluated. Across these three domains, the largest percentage of participants reported relatively high well-being scores across the 6months of the study. Across these three QOL domains, patients and FCs who were younger, female, belonged to an ethnic minority group, had children at home, had multiple comorbid conditions, or had a lower functional status, were more likely to be classified in the lower QOL class. The social well-being domain was the only domain that had a polymorphism in nuclear factor kappa beta 2 (NFKB2) associated with latent class membership. Carrying one or two doses of the rare allele for rs7897947 was associated with a 54% decrease in the odds of belonging to the lower social well-being class [OR (95% CI)=.46 (.21, .99), p=.049]. These findings suggest that a number of phenotypic and molecular characteristics contribute to differences in QOL in oncology patients and their FCs.