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Five Dimensions of Needs for Help: The Efficacy of a Technology-Based Intervention Among Asian American Breast Cancer Survivors

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Abstract

Cancer survivors including Asian American breast cancer survivors have reported their high needs for help during their survivorship process. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the necessity of technology-based programs to address their needs for help without face-to-face interactions has been highlighted. The purpose of this randomized intervention study was to determine the efficacy of a technology-based program in reducing various types of needs for help among this specific population. This was a randomized clinical trial with repeated measures. A total of 199 participants were included in the data analysis. The recruitment settings included both online and offline communities/groups for Asian Americans. The needs for help were assessed using the Support Care Needs Survey-34 Short Form (SCNS) subscales measuring psychological, information, physical, support, and communication needs. Data analysis was conducted through an intent-to-treat approach. In the mixed effect models, psychological needs, information needs, physical needs, and communication needs decreased over time (P < .001). However, there were no significant group * time effects. Social support significantly mediated the effects of a technology-based intervention on psychological, information, and support needs at the pre-test and the post-1 month. This study supported significant decreases in the needs for help of Asian American breast cancer survivors by a technology-based intervention. Further studies are needed with other racial/ethnic groups of cancer survivors to confirm the efficacy of a technology-based intervention in reducing cancer survivors’ needs for help during their survivorship process.

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Funding

This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NCI/NCI; 1R01CA203719).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Texas at Austin, 1710 Red River St, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Eun-Ok Im & Wonshik Chee

  2. Emory University, Atlanta, USA

    Sudeshna Paul, Mi-Young Choi & Seo Yun Kim

  3. Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, South Korea

    Mi-Young Choi

  4. The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA

    SeonAe Yeo

  5. The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

    Connie M. Ulrich, Marilyn M. Schapira, Salimah Meghani & Janet A. Deatrick

  6. Harvard University Health Services, Cambridge, USA

    Giang T. Nguyen

  7. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Jun J. Mao

  8. Temple University, Philadelphia, USA

    Grace Ma

  9. University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA

    Jillian Inouye

  10. The University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA

    David Shin

  11. Integrative Breast Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, USA

    Ting Bao

  12. Department of Nursing, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangwon-do, South Korea

    Seo Yun Kim

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Contributions

Eun-Ok Im is the PI of the study who designed the study, had conducted the study, and wrote the manuscript. Wonshik Chee and Sudeshna Paul are co-investigators of the study who helped the design of the study, conducted study, reviewed the manuscript, and helped the preparation of the manuscript. Mi-Young Choi and Seo Yun Kim conducted the data analysis, wrote the finding section, prepared the tables and figure, reviewed the manuscript, and helped the preparation of the manuscript. All other co-authors are consultants of the study who reviewed the study, provided the consultation during the data collection process, reviewed the manuscript, and helped the preparation of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eun-Ok Im.

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The original study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the institutions where the authors are affiliated (IRB00117270).

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Im, EO., Chee, W., Paul, S. et al. Five Dimensions of Needs for Help: The Efficacy of a Technology-Based Intervention Among Asian American Breast Cancer Survivors. J Canc Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-024-02415-y

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