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American Indian Women Cancer Survivor’s Needs and Preferences: Community Support for Cancer Experiences

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Abstract

Cancer (the focus of this inquiry) is the leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women. The purpose of this study was to identify American Indian women cancer survivors’ needs and preferences related to community supports for their cancer experience. This qualitative study examined female American Indian cancer survivors’ needs and preferences about community support. The sample included 43 American Indian women cancer survivors (the types of cancer survivors included cervical cancer: n = 14; breast cancer: n = 14; and colon and other types: n = 15) residing in the Northern Plains region, in the state of South Dakota. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis and were collected between June of 2014 and February of 2015. When asked about their needs and preferences, 82% of participants (n = 35) of female American Indian cancer survivors reported at least one of the following most commonly reported themes: cancer support groups (n = 31, 72%), infrastructure for community support (n = 17, 40%), and cancer education (n = 11, 26%). In addition to the aforementioned themes, 33% of participants (n = 14) indicated the need for an improved healthcare system, with 11% (n = 5) of participants expressly desiring the integration of spirituality and holistic healing options. The majority of American Indian women cancer survivor participants of this study identified a need for more community-based support systems and infrastructures to aid with the cancer survivor experience. Results warrant a community approach to raise awareness, education, and support for American Indian cancer survivors.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by funding from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (U54MD008164 by Elliott) from the National Institutes of Health to Soonhee Roh, PhD.

Funding

This work was supported, in part, by Award K12HD043451 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (Krousel-Wood-PI; Catherine Burnette-Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) Scholar).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, Tulane University, 127 Elk Place, #8906, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Catherine E. Burnette & Jessica Liddell

  2. Department of Social Work, 365 Health Science Center, University of South Dakota, 1400 West 22nd Street, Sioux Falls, SD, 57105, USA

    Soonhee Roh

  3. School of Social Work, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA, 94132, USA

    Yeon-Shim Lee

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  1. Catherine E. Burnette
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  2. Soonhee Roh
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  3. Jessica Liddell
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  4. Yeon-Shim Lee
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Correspondence to Catherine E. Burnette.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Burnette, C.E., Roh, S., Liddell, J. et al. American Indian Women Cancer Survivor’s Needs and Preferences: Community Support for Cancer Experiences. J Canc Educ 34, 592–599 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-018-1346-4

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