The Role of Social Supports in Older Women's Recovery From Hip Fractures

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Abstract
Interviews were conducted with 101 women, ranging in age from 65 to 94, to determine the types of assistance that family members, friends, and formal services provide older women recovering from hip fractures, and the influence of social support variables on their recovery. More women were receiving help from members of their informal network in such areas as meal preparation, shopping, and running errands. More women were also using physical therapy and housekeeping services as a result of their fractures. The strongest predictors of recovery were the women's physical abilities prior to their fracture and the progression they had made at the time of the first interview. Results suggest that social support variables may have a more indirect than direct association with older women's recovery from hip fractures.