New Grandmothers Less Likely to Receive Preventive Care

By Richard Shank Grandmas

New research at the University of Southern California suggests that new grandmothers are less inclined than more experienced grandmothers to schedule regular influenza vaccinations, pap tests, and cholesterol screenings.

Such preventative health measures are critical for the well-being of women over 50, and especially for new grandparents who are primary caregivers for young grandchildren. Custodial grandparents are especially at risk for poor health outcomes, if not screened early, due to the stress of caregiving at an advanced age. These stressors have a greater impact on new grandparents because they often do not have the resources and experience to handle them in positive ways. The research also suggests that this is only a temporary issue, since experienced custodial grandparents become more health conscious, on average, two years after the birth of their grandchild.

Despite these findings, the researchers believe that the healthy habits of more experienced grandparents do not overcome the lack of preventative health behavior during the crucial and stressful transition period into grandparenthood. As a result, they argue that more attention needs to be paid to this transition period in an effort to provide new grandparents with the tools they need to cope with the stressors of their new role.

Source: Baker and Silverstein, M. 2008. Journal of Gerontology.

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