The relationship between communication and health-related quality of life in survivorship care for Chinese-American and Korean-American breast cancer survivors

Abstract

Objective-The purpose of this study was (1) to compare family communication, decision support (i.e., supporting the patient in making decisions), self-efficacy in patient-physician communication (i.e., patients' confidence level in communicating with physicians), and healthrelated quality of life (HRQOL) between Chinese-and Korean-American breast cancer survivors (BCS), and (2) to investigate how family communication, decision support, and self-efficacy in patient-physician communication influences HRQOL for Chinese-and Korean-American BCS.Methods-A cross-sectional design was used. A total of 157 Chinese-(n=86) and KoreanAmerican (n=71) BCS were recruited from the California Cancer Surveillance Program and area hospitals in Los Angeles County. The Chronic Care Model was utilized.Results-Chinese-and Korean-Americans showed a significant difference in the decision support only. Self-efficacy in patient-physician communication was directly associated with HRQOL for Chinese-Americans, whereas for Korean-Americans, family communication was related to HRQOL. The mediating effects of decision support and self-efficacy in physicianpatient communication in the relationship between family communication and HRQOL were observed for Chinese-Americans only. Multiple group analysis demonstrated that the structural paths varied between Chinese-and Korean-American BCS.Conclusions-Our results provide insight into the survivorship care of Chinese-and KoreanAmerican BCS, allowing a better understanding of communication among survivors, family, and healthcare providers. Communication skills to manage conflict and attain consensus among them under the cultural contexts are essential to improve HRQOL for BCS.

Health-related quality of life variations by sociodemographic factors and chronic conditions in three metropolitan cities of South Asia: the CARRS study

“…17 Other potential contributing factors that are known to influence health status are living conditions, gross domestic product per capita, inequities in income distributions and access to healthcare. [56][57][58][59][60][61] Therefore, public health initiatives should focus on intersectoral approaches to address issues of education, generating more avenues for employment and improving the quality and access of primary healthcare.…”

Factors Affecting Quality of Life for Korean American Cancer Survivors: An Integrative Review

“…The number of Korean Americans in the studies ranged from less than 10 (S. Lee et al, 2013) to a high of 71 (Lim & Ashing-Giwa, 2013; Lim & Paek, 2013). …”

“…Lim (2014) found that cancer survivors who communicated effectively within the family improved their own physical ( p < 0.001) and mental QOL ( p < 0.01). Similarly, among 71 Korean American breast cancer survivors, family communication was directly associated with mental and physical QOL ( p < 0.05) (Lim & Paek, 2013). Other studies focusing specifically at family relationships found that higher family support was related to more family communication ( p = 0.002) (Lim & Ashing-Giwa, 2013).…”

“…Second, studies in the integrative review were focused on breast/gynecological cancer survivors (Ashing Giwa et al, 2004; Choi et al, 2012; Kim et al, 2006; S. Lee et al, 2013; Lim & Ashing-Giwa, 2013; Lim, 2014; Lim et al, 2013; Lim et al, 2012; Lim & Paek, 2013; Tam Ashing et al, 2003), which limited our understanding of the relationship between support, communication and acculturation among survivors coping with other types of cancer. Also, the findings may be relevant primarily to female Korean American cancer survivors who made up the sample for most of the studies reviewed.…”

Effects of Doctor-patient Communication on Quality of Life among Breast Cancer Patients in Southern China

“…Moreover, the doctor-patient relationship was indirectly correlated with emotional well-being (Lim et al, 2009). Self-efficacy in patient-physician communication was directly associated with Health-related Quality of life in Chinese-Americans (Lim et al, 2013). For cultural health beliefs, breast cancer patients were more likely to believe their physician regarding their health.…”