Effects of Educational Interventions in Facilitating Mammography Screening Among Asian American Women: A Meta-Analysis.

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION: This meta-analysis evaluated the effects of various types of educational interventions on increasing breast cancer screening uptake among Asian American women. LITERATURE SEARCH: Web of Science, MEDLINE®, PubMed®, and Cochrane Library were searched for randomized controlled trials published from 2010 to 2020 of interventions developed to promote mammography uptake among Asian American women. DATA EVALUATION: A random-effects model was used to estimate pooled effect sizes using relative risk measures. A funnel plot was used to assess publication bias. SYNTHESIS: Seven studies were included in this review. Educational interventions identified were primarily culturally sensitive approaches combined with access-enhancing, individually tailored, or group-based approaches. The interventions were effective at increasing the receipt of mammography. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: This review provides insight into the importance of combining other approaches with educational interventions to increase their effectiveness for Asian American women. Future interventions can incorporate various approaches to enhance the ability of Asian American women to overcome barriers to breast cancer screening.

Examining the Psychometric Properties of the Taiwanese Version of the Hospice Quality of Life Index.

Quality of life is an important outcome for people with cancer throughout their cancer trajectory. Having a valid and reliable instrument to measure the quality of life is critical. This cross-sectional study examined the psychometric properties of the Taiwanese version of the Hospice Quality of Life Index among patients with advanced cancer in Taiwan. There were 3 phases: (1) translation of the Hospice Quality of Life Index from English to Mandarin, (2) pilot testing among 30 targeted participants, and (3) field testing to examine validity and reliability. The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the original factor structure of the Hospice Quality of Life Index did not fit the data. After 5 items were deleted from the original questionnaire, principal factor extraction with oblique rotation for exploratory factor analysis yielded 3 subscales: Social/Spiritual Well-Being, Psychological Well-Being, and Functional/Physiological Well-Being. For convergent validity, the small to moderate strength of associations showed shared variance with the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale. The internal consistency was supported by Cronbach α ranging from 0.77 to 0.86. This study shows early evidence that the quality of life of people with advanced cancer can be appropriately assessed by the Taiwanese Hospice Quality of Life Index.

Measurement Invariance of the Hospice Quality of Life Index-14 in Lung Cancer and Nonlung Cancer Patients Admitted to Hospice.

Background and Purpose: Establishing measurement invariance (MI) is important in the questionnaire validation process. This study examined the MI of the Hospice Quality of Life Index-14 (HQLI-14) when comparing hospice patients with lung cancer and those with non-lung cancers. Methods: The HQLI-14 contains 14 items to measure multidimensional concepts of quality of life. A series of confirmatory factor analyses were performed to test configural, metric, and scalar invariance. Results: The MI of the HQLI-14 was supported by increasing equality constraints on item parameters between groups. Although the configural and metric invariances were both supported, one item regarding breathlessness was noninvariant between the groups with lung and nonlung cancers. Conclusions: The HQLI-14 shows early evidence of meeting the requirements for configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance. It may be used to make meaningful comparisons between patients with lung cancer and nonlung cancers.

Symptom Distress and Quality of Life in Women With Newly Diagnosed Ovarian Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Longitudinal Approach.

BACKGROUND: Women with newly diagnosed ovarian cancer who receive chemotherapy experience distressing symptoms and reduced quality of life (QOL). Previous study results identifying changes in symptom distress and QOL over time are limited. OBJECTIVES: This study examined the trajectory of symptom distress and QOL among women with newly diagnosed ovarian cancer from before their first chemotherapy appointment to two weeks after completing six cycles of chemotherapy. METHODS: A longitudinal design was used to examine symptom distress and QOL in 36 participants across eight time points. Generalized estimating equation analyses identified how participants' symptom distress and QOL changed over time. FINDINGS: Psychological symptom distress was highest at baseline and then decreased. Physical symptom distress increased at the second chemotherapy cycle. Similar results were found for QOL, with the lowest QOL reported after the fifth cycle.

The Mutual Effects of Perceived Spiritual Needs on Quality of Life in Patients With Advanced Cancer and Family Caregivers.

Perceived spiritual needs may increase when patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers are confronted with the challenges of physical and psychological distress. Given the intertwined relationships between patients and family caregivers, their interdependence should be considered to understand how perceived spiritual needs affect the quality of life of their own and of their partner. This study used the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model as the conceptual model to investigate the mutual effects of perceived spiritual needs on the quality of life in patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers after being admitted to hospice. This cross-sectional study used the baseline data of a large clinical trial and identified that patients with cancer and their family caregivers perceived similar spiritual needs associated with the community and outlook needs and had fewer unmet spiritual needs. After controlling for partner effects, perceived outlook needs shown in patients significantly predicted their own functional well-being and social/spiritual well-being. Outlook and community needs perceived by family caregivers also significantly predicted their own mental health. Although partner effects were not shown as expected, the findings provide insight into the mutuality of spirituality and demonstrate the necessity of providing timely and ongoing spiritual assessment and care.