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Cancer-Relevant Self-Efficacy Is Related to Better Health-Related Quality of Life and Lower Cancer-Specific Distress and Symptom Burden Among Latina Breast Cancer Survivors

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Abstract

Background

Latina breast cancer survivors (BCS) often report poorer health-related quality of life (HRQOL), higher symptom burden, and greater psychosocial needs compared to non-Latina BCS. However, Latinas are underrepresented in cancer survivorship research and more work is needed to examine the factors contributing to these psychosocial disparities. This study aimed to evaluate potentially modifiable patient characteristics associated with HRQOL, breast cancer concerns, and cancer-specific distress among Latina BCS.

Methods

Baseline data was evaluated in 95 Latina BCS who participated in a smartphone-based psychosocial intervention designed to improve HRQOL. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the associations between modifiable factors that have been shown to favorably impact outcomes in cancer populations (i.e., cancer-relevant self-efficacy, breast cancer knowledge) with overall and domain-specific HRQOL, breast cancer symptom burden, and cancer-specific distress, after controlling for sociodemographic and cancer-related characteristics.

Results

Greater cancer-relevant self-efficacy was related to better overall HRQOL as well as better social, emotional, and functional well-being domains. Greater cancer-relevant self-efficacy was also related to less breast cancer symptom burden and less cancer-specific distress. Breast cancer knowledge was not associated with any of the study outcomes.

Conclusions

Results demonstrate that cancer-relevant self-efficacy is a significant correlate of general and domain-specific HRQOL, breast cancer symptom burden, and cancer-specific distress among Latina BCS. Future interventions in this population should target cancer-relevant self-efficacy as a possible mechanism to improve HRQOL outcomes and survivorship experiences for Latina BCS.

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Funding

Research reported in this publication was financially supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute, Grant Numbers U54CA202995, U54CA202997, and U54CA203000. The authors SHB and LBO were financially supported by National Cancer Institute training grant T32CA193193.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Laura B. Oswald

    Present address: Health Outcomes and Behavior Program, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Sharon H. Baik, Laura B. Oswald, Diana Buitrago, Alma Diaz & Betina Yanez

  2. Department of Psychology, DePaul University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Joanna Buscemi

  3. University of Illinois at Chicago Institute for Health Research and Policy, Chicago, IL, USA

    Joanna Buscemi

  4. Department of Computer Science, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Francisco Iacobelli

  5. Department of Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Alejandra Perez-Tamayo

  6. ALAS-WINGS, The Latina Association for Breast Cancer, Chicago, IL, USA

    Judy Guitelman

  7. Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA

    Frank J. Penedo

Authors
  1. Sharon H. Baik
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  2. Laura B. Oswald
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Betina Yanez.

Ethics declarations

Participants were screened, provided informed consent, and completed a battery of self-report questionnaires in her preferred language (English or Spanish) prior to intervention participation. The Institutional Review Board at Northwestern University approved all study procedures and assessments.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Baik, S.H., Oswald, L.B., Buitrago, D. et al. Cancer-Relevant Self-Efficacy Is Related to Better Health-Related Quality of Life and Lower Cancer-Specific Distress and Symptom Burden Among Latina Breast Cancer Survivors. Int.J. Behav. Med. 27, 357–365 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-020-09890-9

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