Needs and experiences of Samoan breast cancer survivors in Southern California.

OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer rates are increasing among Samoan and other Pacific Islander women, yet studies of their social support needs are nearly non-existent. The purpose of this paper is to report on the cultural dimensions of social support among Samoan breast cancer survivors in Southern California. METHODS: Data for this paper came from a larger one-and-a-half year study of the social support needs of Samoan breast cancer survivors and their family and friends. In-depth, retrospective, qualitative interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 20 Samoan survivors who were recruited from an existing social support program as well as the general community. RESULTS: We documented important informational needs and behaviors, social support needs and experiences, and spirituality issues for the Samoan breast cancer survivors. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings underscore the need for culturally-specific social support services for Samoans, as well as the necessity of community-based participatory research to define and explore social support and other survivorship needs in this understudied population. Recommendations from the community report-back, stressed the importance of expanding community Samoan cancer social support groups through collaborations with Samoan leaders and churches.

Role of Spirituality in Coping with Breast Cancer: A Qualitative Study of Samoan Breast Cancer Survivors and their Supporters.

The use of spirituality for guidance and coping affects the quality of life in many cancer survivors and their supporters. Previous research has focused on coping strategies among cancer and terminally ill survivors, primarily among White and African American women. However, the length and extent to which these strategies have been researched in a cultural and communal context, such as Pacific Islanders, is not documented. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore spiritual coping among a cross-sectional sample of 20 Samoan women diagnosed with breast cancer and 40 of their supporters (family and/or friends) in Southern California. In-depth interviews were conducted retrospectively with survivors and their supporters by trained bilingual/bicultural interviewers. The interviews were recorded, transcribed (and translated where applicable), and analyzed using the grounded theory approach to identify major themes for each group. Results illustrated that spirituality provided considerable emotional and logistical assistance to both survivors and their supporters, with particularly churches playing a potentially important role in the development of social support programs for both groups. This study supports the use of faith-based communities as forums to increase health education and understanding the further use of spiritual coping for cancer survivors, family, and friends.

Developing a community-based collaboration to reduce cancer health disparities among Pacific Islanders in California.

Cancer is a leading cause of death for Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States, but education and research efforts addressing the needs ofPacific Islanders in the continental U.S. is sparse. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a community-based participatory research network dedicated to addressing cancer health disparities among Chamorros, Marshallese, Native Hawaiians, Samoans and Tongans in Southern California. Community-based organizations (CBO) comprise the focus of the network, and their efforts have included increasing cancer-related awareness in their communities, developing capacities regarding cancer control, and initiating collaborative research efforts with academic partners. First year processes and outcomes are described, and specific examples are given from two CBO partners.