#C105 Spousal Support and Dietary Adherence in the Women's Intervention Nutrition Study (WINS). Bridget Quinn, Katherine Hoy, Joshua E. Muscat, Daniel W. Nixon, Institute for Cancer Prevention, New York, NY. Dietary intake is a critical factor in cancer prevention. Diets targeted at reducing cancer risk for high-risk groups likely require lifelong changes in the consumption of specific food groups. One of the methodological challenges in successfully carrying out a long-term nutritional intervention study is sustained adherence to the prescribed study diet. Therefore, elucidating the personal and lifestyle characteristics associated with successful adherence would be a valuable contribution to the development of nutrition interventions. The Women’s Intervention Nutrition Study (WINS) is a multi-center clinical trial investigating the effect of a low fat diet on recurrence and survival in postmenopausal breast cancer patients (n=2,437). The study is examining the effect on prognosis of maintaining a low fat diet over a period of 5 or more years. Focus groups conducted among WINS participants revealed that for many women, spousal support has been very important in following the WINS low fat diet. To determine the extent to which spousal support is associated with adherence to the low fat diet, a stratified random sample of married participants in WINS (n=195) and their spouses were surveyed. Three groups were selected: subjects in the intervention arm who successfully maintained the prescribed diet, subjects in the intervention arm who had not met the target diet goals, and controls. Sixty-five subjects and their spouses were selected from each group. Adherence was defined as consuming less than 20% energy from fat according to the most recent annual telephone recalls (two 24-hr recalls using Nutrition Data Systems, University of Minnesota). The WINS participants’ perceptions of social support from their spouse are being evaluated using the Evaluation of Spousal Support (ESS) survey and the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL). ESS was designed to address spousal support in the maintenance of diets, whereas ISEL provides a non-specific evaluation of perceived social support. The spouse’s own views on the intervention and the role of the spouse in achieving the study goals are also being assessed by ESS. In addition, spouses are requested to fill out “Form Q”, and the Kristal Food Habits Questionnaire. Form Q is a questionnaire developed specifically for WINS to assess attitudes, beliefs, and overall quality of life. The Kristal Questionnaire evaluates behaviors associated with following a low fat diet. Adherence to a prescribed diet is a challenge for many adults. Successful interventions may depend upon spousal emotional support, spousal participation in the diet, and spousal participation in food choices, cooking methods and other lifestyle factors. WINS is an NCI supported trial, CA45504. The study reported here is funded by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, 2003 AACR Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.