Abstract A48: Reducing the burden of breast cancer among African American and Latina survivors

Purpose: Reports on psychosocial interventions document the efficacy of individual telephone interventions to improve coping and psychosocial functioning among cancer patients, including BCS. This study investigates the effectiveness of a psycho-educational intervention with African-American and Latina breast cancer survivors (BCS).

Methods: Participants were recruited from the California Cancer Surveillance Program, hospitals, community health clinics, and BCS support groups. Eligible participants included women 18 years of age and older, within one to 6 years of being diagnosed with breast cancer, diagnosed with stages 0–III, not diagnosed with another type of cancer. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-G) was utilized to assess overall HRQOL. Based on their responses to the pre-test measure, participants were assigned to either the low intensity (LiTx) or high intensity (HiTx) treatment condition and completed both a pre-test and post-test measure. Those in the LiTx group received survivorship materials only and those in the HiTx received 8 psychoeducational telephone sessions and survivorship materials.

Results: The results of a total of 187 BCS (73 African American, 114 Latinas) are described. Participants in the LiTX group showed an increase in QOL scores between the pre-test (M = 59.9, SD = 6.2) and the post-test (M = 63.4, SD = 12.6). Participants in the HiTx group showed an increase in QOL scores between the pre-test (M = 52.8, SD = 4.8) to the post-test (M = 57.7, SD = 6.8). At baseline, there were statistically significant differences in both the LiTx and HiTx groups in overall QOL scores (t=8.4, p= .0001). African American BCS reported higher QOL scores than Latina BCS during baseline (t = 4.4, p = .0001) but not the follow up (t = .44, p = .66). A repeated measures analysis was conducted to determine if the HiTx had an effect on overall quality of life as measured by the FACT-G. A significant difference was found for overall QOL by study condition, such that QOL scores improved from baseline (M = 52.8, SD = 4.8) to approximately 3 months (M = 57.7, SD = 6.8) the HiTx group. HiTx participants reported the stress management component to be particularly helpful and reported increases in their comfort level in being able to communicate their needs to their medical providers.

Conclusion: Preliminary findings on the efficacy of the psychosocial intervention reveal significant improvements in HRQOL as measured by the FACT. Further, results indicate that at baseline Latina BCS report less favorable overall QOL scores than African American BCS, but made significant improvements as a result of the intervention. Findings also suggested that long-term and late effects persist among BCS, but symptoms are responsive to intervention.

Research/Clinical Implications: These results are encouraging and provide evidence that culturally and clinically responsive psychoeducational interventions are effective for improving QOL outcomes among low-income and minority populations. Similar interventions if implemented early may help alleviate and prevent some negative outcomes among survivors at greatest risk for poor outcomes. Furthermore, findings may enlighten clinicians and researchers on practical models and strategies to reduce stress and preserve emotional stability.