Breast cancer survivorship in a multiethnic sample

Abstract

BACKGROUNDThe inclusion of ethnic minorities in cancer‐related studies continues to be an important concern for researchers. In this article, the authors present 1) a brief discussion of recruitment and measurement challenges in conducting multiethnic survivorship research, and 2) recruitment outcomes and sample characteristics for a health‐related quality‐of‐life study with a multiethnic sample of breast cancer survivors (BCS).METHODSA case–control, cross‐sectional design with mixed sampling methods was used. The Contextual Model for Recruitment and Enrollment of Diverse Samples was used to guide the protocol. BCS were recruited from the California Cancer Surveillance Program, from hospital registries, and from community agencies. Participation rates, demographic factors, and medical factors were compared. The reliability of standard measures by ethnicity was assessed.RESULTSSeven hundred three women participated, including 135 African‐American women (19%), 206 Asian‐American women (29%), 183 Latina‐American women (26%), and 179 European‐American women (26%). Participation was influenced by ethnicity, age, and site of recruitment. Overall, African Americans were least likely to participate, and European Americans most likely to participate. African Americans and Asian Americans were more likely to refuse, European Americans and Latina Americans were more likely to agree to participate, and European Americans and Asian Americans were most likely to complete the survey after consenting. Measures possessed moderate to excellent reliability (0.64–0.91).CONCLUSIONSDespite important recruitment and measurement challenges, this study obtained acceptable participation rates and good internal consistency of the measures. The results demonstrate the utility of a culturally responsive approach to health disparities research. Cancer 2004. © 2004 American Cancer Society.

The impact of cancer and quality of life among long-term survivors of breast cancer in Austria

“…Due to the cascade of issues related to breast cancer survivorship, as well as the growing population of breast cancer survivors, such studies have become a top priority [9,18]. It is critical to note that the physical and mental health outcomes of long-term breast cancer survivorship are mediated by social support [20], ethnicity [21], living situation and partnership status [8], sexuality issues [22], socioeconomic status [23], and fatigue level [24]. Thus, breast cancer survivorship is differentially experienced across sociodemographic and clinical factors.…”

Understanding the cultural health belief model influencing health behaviors and health-related quality of life between Latina and Asian-American breast cancer survivors

“…The internal consistencies of the scales by language (English, Spanish, Chinese, and Korean) and ethnicity (Latina and Asian) were assessed by using Cronbach's alpha, and no differences based on language and ethnicity were found. Reliability and validity tests indicated that the standard and new measures used are appropriate for assessing HRQOL with this diverse BCS sample (Cronbach's alpha=0.66-0.92) [29]. Table 1 presents the measures of variables.…”

“…All procedures for the study reported here were approved by the University of California, Los Angeles Institutional Review Board. Details regarding subject identification and recruitment are described elsewhere [29].…”

Predicting Health-related Quality of Life: Testing the Contextual Model Using Structural Equation Modeling

“…The methodology including sampling procedures, instrumentations, and data managements for this study has been addressed in detail elsewhere (Ashing-Giwa et al 2004b). A brief overview of the methods, procedures, and instrumentation follows.…”