Use of cancer support groups among Latina breast cancer survivors.
BACKGROUND
Although Latina women diagnosed with breast cancer may be at greater risk of psychosocial morbidity compared to white women, few utilize support services such as support groups. Reasons for this under-use among Latinas are unknown.


METHODS
A cross-sectional telephone survey examined the association of predisposing, enabling, and need factors with use of cancer support groups among 330 Latina breast cancer survivors recruited from a population-based tumor registry in counties with Spanish language support groups.


RESULTS
Thirty-two percent had ever used a support group. Among the 225 (68%) women who had never used one, major reasons for not using a support group included receiving enough support from other sources (20%), not needing one (18%), and being unaware of groups in their local area (17%). Women receiving quite a bit or a lot of encouragement from family members to attend a cancer support group were seven times more likely to have ever attended one than women receiving little or no encouragement (OR = 7.04, 95% CI 3.72, 13.30). Spiritual well-being was inversely associated with ever having attended a support group (OR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.89, 0.98).


CONCLUSIONS
Results suggest that families play an important role in promoting use of support groups among Latina breast cancer survivors, and that spirituality may offer an alternative source of support.


CONCLUSIONS
More effort should be directed toward providing culturally and linguistically appropriate support services to breast cancer survivors, and increasing awareness of these services among oncologists, patients and family members.
Nápoles-Springer
Anna M
AM
Medical Effectiveness Research Center for Diverse Populations, Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, 3333 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94118-1944, USA. anna.napoles-springer@ucsf.edu
Ortíz
Carmen
C
O'Brien
Helen
H
Díaz-Méndez
Marynieves
M
Pérez-Stable
Eliseo J
EJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D002140:California; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006304:Health Status; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011594:Psychometrics; D012657:Self-Help Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012944:Social Support; D029181:Spirituality; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*