Palliative Care Practices and Knowledge of Home Care Nurses in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Palliative Care (PC) is an interdisciplinary specialty focused on relieving symptoms and optimizing quality of life for people living with serious illnesses and their families. A great need for PC exists in Saudi Arabia due to its aging population and prevalence of cancer and other chronic diseases. Home healthcare can make PC more accessible to patients, but clinicians must be equipped with the PC knowledge and skills to perform their roles. This study was a descriptive, correlational examination of PC practices and knowledge of home care nurses recruited from military hospitals in Saudi Arabia. We surveyed participants using the Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing (PCQN) and the Modified Global Home Health Nursing Care Assessment Questionnaire. The mean PCQN score was 8.40, indicating low levels of PC knowledge. A nurses' demographic and physical, spiritual, religious, cultural, linguistic, ethical, and legal aspects of care revealed significant associations. Given the low levels of PC knowledge and skills, we recommend focusing on education, training, and research. Universities should review their curriculum to ensure PC content. Hospitals should provide training programs focused on all aspects of PC, specifically emotional and spiritual, without limiting training to physical aspects of care. Future research is also needed to inform policy in this area.

Factors Associated With Depression in Breast Cancer Patients in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Depressive symptoms in Arab women with breast cancer (AWBC) in Saudi Arabia can be influenced by spirituality, religiosity, social support, and breast cancer's stigma. Understanding the role of these factors can raise awareness and help create policies to improve care for breast cancer patients. Yet, there is limited research addressing the impact of these factors on depressive symptoms in AWBC. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate factors influencing depressive symptoms in AWBC in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional design and convenience sampling were used to recruit 59 AWBC from oncology departments in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, who were receiving active treatment to participate in this study. Participants completed an online survey or paper-based survey including questions on sociodemographics, social support, spirituality, religiosity, depressive symptoms, and breast cancer's stigma. Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to examine the influence of numerous factors on depressive symptoms in AWBC; Student t test statistic was used to distinguish the depressive symptom scores between online and paper-based survey. RESULTS: The average age of participants was 49 years (SD = 8.31). The mean (SD) of depressive symptoms was 20.52 (12.36). Pearson correlation analyses indicated that cancer patients with high levels of depressive symptoms were associated with low levels of spiritualty and religiosity, and high levels of breast cancer stigma. CONCLUSIONS: Religiosity and spirituality work as protective factors against depressive symptoms in AWBC. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Including religiosity and spirituality in the intervention plan should be considered when caring for AWBC.

Mistrust Reported by US Mexicans With Cancer at End of Life and Hospice Enrollment.

Hospice research with Hispanics mostly focuses on cultural barriers. Mindful of social justice and structural violence, we used critical grounded theory in a postcolonial theory framework to develop a grounded theory of hospice decision making in US Mexicans with terminal cancer. Findings suggest that hospice avoidance is predicted by mistrust, rather than culture, whereas hospice enrollers felt a sense of belonging. Cultural accommodation may do little to mitigate hospice avoidance rooted in discrimination-fueled mistrust. Future research with nondominant populations should employ research designs mitigating Eurocentric biases. Policy makers should consider concurrent therapy for nondominant populations with low trust in the health care system.

Development of the Breast Cancer Stigma Scale for Arab Patients.

OBJECTIVE: Health-related stigma is associated with depression, but there is a lack of studies examining the stigma of cancer in Arab patients. The purpose of this study was to establish the reliability and validity of a newly developed, culturally sensitive measure of stigma among Arab women with breast cancer. METHODS: The sample consisted of 59 Arab women with breast cancer who were Muslim, on active oncology treatment. The mean age of women was 49 years (standard deviation = 8.31). Content validity was assessed by calculating a Content Validity Index (CVI) based on ratings from seven oncology experts. Convergent validity was assessed by examining the association with a measure of depressive symptoms. Reliability was assessed by calculating Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: The measure demonstrated strong content validity (item-CVIs ranged from 0.85 to 1.0 and the scale-CVI was 1.0) and good convergent validity (higher levels of stigma were significantly associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms). Finally, the reliability of the measure was also found to be adequate (alpha = 0.79). CONCLUSIONS: The initial examination of the Breast Cancer Stigma Scale for Arab Patients indicated that the scale is both valid and reliable to be used in Arab women with breast cancer.

Hispanic Hospice Utilization: Integrative Review and Meta-analysis.

Hospice is patient-centered end-of-life care. Hispanics are underrepresented among hospice patients (7.1%) relative to the U.S. population (17%). We conducted a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis to understand this underrepresentation further. In palliative care, Hispanic hospice enrollment is comparable to that of non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs) (RR 1.02, 95% CI: 0.93-1.12; z=0.49; p = .627). However, in cases of heart failure (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.37-0.66) and stroke (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.63-0.94), Hispanics are much less likely to use hospice than NHWs. Cancer studies are mixed, but in meta-analysis were significant for lower relative hospice use in Hispanics (RR 0.96, 95% CI: 0.94-0.99; z=3.01; p=.003). It remains unclear whether using census and insurance data in statistical analysis provides valid results since the Hispanic population is younger, healthier, and less likely to be insured. Health equity in hospice may be better represented by hospice quality rather than hospice enrollment rates.

Does Racial Bias Affect NCI-Funded PIs' Willingness to Mentor Prospective Graduate Students?

Audit studies suggest that racial discrimination disadvantages black individuals in educational/professional advancement. We hypothesized that prospective black male doctoral students would experience greater disparity in responses when seeking access to National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded principal investigators (PI) compared with prospective white males. Primary aim was to explore response and acceptance rates for black versus white men seeking cancer research mentorship. Identical e-mails were sent to 1,028 randomly selected PIs affiliated with 65 NCI-designated cancer centers from "Lamar Washington" (black; n = 515) or "Brad Anderson" (white; n = 513). Primary outcomes: (i) responses within one week; and (ii) type of response. We used logistic regression to examine effects of condition (black/white) on primary outcomes. Approximately 48.3% and 50.0% of the sample responded to "Lamar" and "Brad," respectively. For responders, 40.9% and 43.7% and "agreed" to meet with Lamar and Brad, respectively. This design did not detect bias by PIs against black prospective male students. Cancer Res; 78(17); 4809-11. ©2018 AACR.

Health Care Providers' Perspectives on Barriers and Facilitators to Cervical Cancer Screening in Vietnamese American Women.

INTRODUCTION: Vietnamese American women (VAW) are diagnosed and die at twice the rate than White non-Hispanic American women (16.8/100,000 vs. 8.1/100,000 and 4.4/100,000 vs. 2.4/100,000, respectively). Despite efforts to increase cervical cancer (CC) screening among VAW, the participation rates are persistently low (69% to 81%). The purpose of this study was to explore health care providers' (HCPs) perspectives on barriers and facilitators to CC screening in VAW. METHOD: This qualitative descriptive pilot study, used open-ended semistructured interviews with 10 HCPs. RESULTS: The HCPs had two to 23 years treating VAW. Major barriers and facilitators identified by the HCPs were as follows: VAW's decision making about CC screening; sexual health divide; language discordance, relying on interpreters; breaking suspicion; VAW's exposure to health sources of CC screening; sustainable trust; and motivated health care practices. DISCUSSION: HCPs perceived the reasons for VAW not being screened or delaying CC screening were due to their lack of knowledge, cultural barriers, language, and issues related to trust.