Health behavior changes following breast cancer treatment: a qualitative comparison among Chinese American, Korean American, and Mexican American survivors.

This study explored how Chinese American, Korean American, and Mexican American women modify their health behaviors following breast cancer treatment and identified motivators and barriers that influence their changes. An exploratory, descriptive, qualitative study was undertaken using six focus groups. Discussions were transcribed and translated for content analysis. Significant differences among the ethnic groups were noted in the following health behavior practices which were most commonly stated as changed behaviors after a breast cancer diagnosis: 1) eating habits, 2) physical activity, 3) alternative medicine, 4) sleeping, 5) social activity, 6) weight control, and 7) alcohol consumption. Family, financial concerns, environment, and religious faith were commonly mentioned as motivators of and/or barriers to changes in health behaviors. Findings provide insight into different perspectives related to changes in health behaviors by ethnicity, which is critical for developing culturally tailored behavioral interventions to improve underserved breast cancer survivors' quality of life and to reduce health disparities.

How have long-term survivors coped with living with HIV?

With advances in HIV treatment, more individuals have grown older with the disease. Little is known about factors that have helped these survivors manage everyday life with HIV. In this exploratory, qualitative study, we asked, "What has helped survivors cope with challenges of living long term with HIV?" Participants were recruited from a convenience sample of persons living with HIV who obtained treatment at a specialty HIV clinic; 16 long-term survivors of HIV were interviewed. Mean age was 50.13 (SD = 8.30) years; mean time from diagnosis was 16.75 (SD = 5.98) years. Results were broadly dichotomized as coping mechanisms and social supports. Three themes characterized coping mechanisms: disease coping, practical coping, and emotional coping. Social supports included themes of family, friends, professionals, peer groups, and pets. In particular, the power of patient-professional relationships and meanings derived from religion/spirituality were considered by a majority of participants to be influential factors.

The effects of religiosity, spirituality, and social support on quality of life: a comparison between Korean American and Korean breast and gynecologic cancer survivors.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To examine the differences in religiosity, spirituality, and quality of life (QOL) between Korean American and Korean breast and gynecologic cancer survivors and investigate the effect of religiosity, spirituality, and social support on QOL. DESIGN: Cross-sectional design. SETTING: Participants were recruited from hospitals and community-based support groups in the areas of Southern California and Seoul, Korea. SAMPLE: 161 women diagnosed with breast and gynecologic cancer (110 Koreans and 51 Korean Americans). METHODS: Participants completed a mailed questionnaire. To identify the QOL outcomes, religiosity, spirituality, and social support, four standardized measures were used. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: QOL outcomes, religiosity, spirituality, religious involvement, and social support. FINDINGS: Religiosity and spirituality were related to some QOL outcomes in different patterns in Korean American and Korean breast and gynecologic cancer survivors. The effect on QOL, however, was not strong after controlling for covariates. Social support partially mediated the effect of spirituality on QOL but only among the Korean American cancer survivors. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide evidence that the effect of religiosity and spirituality on QOL varied between Korean American and Korean survivors. The mediating effect of social support between spirituality and QOL for Korean Americans also was demonstrated. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: The results present nursing practice and research implications that religiosity, spirituality, and social support need to be considered in developing services for enhancing QOL of immigrant cancer survivors.