Life Partner Influence on Uptake of Preventive Services: Evidence From Flu Vaccine Adoption Among the Aging Population

Objectives: This study examines how the patterns of life partner concordance on preventive health service uptake vary by a partner’s previous behavioral history and between genders. Method: This study uses 2008 and 2012 waves of Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative sample of U.S. aging population, to examine one’s decision to receive a preventive service as a function of the partner’s decision changes over time (N = 2,680). Results: Life partner concordance on preventive service use is different by the partner’s previous use history and gender. Positive partner preventive engagement showed greater association than negative ones. Women are more responsive to the positive health behaviors (of their partners), and men are more sensitive to the negative partner health behaviors. Conclusion: The asymmetric partner concordance by gender and the partner’s previous usage experience provide implications to develop efficient and culturally acceptable interventions to increase the uptake of preventive health services.