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Quality of cancer follow-up care: a focus on Latina breast cancer survivors

Journal of Cancer Survivorship volume 8, pages 364–371 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

Introduction

Receiving quality cancer follow-up care influences survivorship outcomes. Among Latinas, breast cancer is the number one cause of cancer death; yet Latinas do not receive adequate follow-up care. This study examined quality of cancer follow-up care among Latina breast cancer survivors (BCS) and whether it differs by participant language and healthcare system variables (provider specialty, and medical setting).

Methods

Two hundred thirty-two (95 English-speaking Latina and 137 Spanish-speaking) Latina BCS were recruited from the California Cancer Registry, hospital cancer registries, and community agencies.

Results

English-speaking Latina BCS were more likely to report receiving cancer follow-up care at a doctor’s office (p < 0.001). BCS without a regular place for cancer follow-up care were more likely to report not seeing a primary care provider (p < 0.05) or cancer specialist (p < 0.001) in the past 12 months. English-speaking Latina BCS (p < 0.001), BCS who saw a cancer specialist in the past 12 months (p < 0.001), and received follow-up care at a doctor’s office (p < 0.05) reported higher quality of care. Speaking English, having seen a cancer specialist, and receiving follow-up care at a doctor’s office were independently associated with higher quality of care, explaining 44 % of the variance.

Conclusions

Our study findings suggest that examining the influence of ethnic and linguistic factors on quality of cancer follow-up care is necessary to address health disparities. Improved access to cancer follow-up care for Spanish-speaking Latina BCS is of particular concern.

Implication of Cancer Survivors

Identifying follow-up care needs of Latina BCS may contribute to providing high-quality care and improved survivorship outcomes.

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Funding source

Research supported by a grant from Redes En Accion: The National Hispanic/Latino Cancer Research Network, National Cancer Institute (1U54CA153511), and a grant from the Department of Defense—Breast Cancer Research Program (W81XWH-1-0548).

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Center of Community Alliance for Research and Education (CCARE), Department of Population Sciences, City of Hope National Medical Center, 1500 E Duarte Road, Duarte, CA, 91010-3000, USA

    Monica Rosales & Kimlin Ashing

  2. Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Anna Napoles

Authors
  1. Monica Rosales
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  2. Kimlin Ashing
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  3. Anna Napoles
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Monica Rosales.

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Rosales, M., Ashing, K. & Napoles, A. Quality of cancer follow-up care: a focus on Latina breast cancer survivors. J Cancer Surviv 8, 364–371 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-014-0343-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-014-0343-9

Keywords

  • Breast cancer survivor
  • Follow-up care
  • Quality of care
  • Provider specialty
  • Latina