Breast Cancer
Conditions
Keywords
Breast Cancer, Korean Americans, Survivorship, Quality of Life, Coping Skills, Perceived Stress
Brief summary
The objective of the TOGETHER (Together Overcome and Get Empowered Through Health Education and Relationships) program was to examine the effectiveness of one of the first linguistically and culturally tailored intervention programs to increase quality of life among Korean American breast cancer survivors.
Detailed description
This study employed a randomized trial design, consisting of a standard and enhanced intervention group. Participants attended seven weekly sessions and one follow-up session that lasted for about 2 hours each. All sessions were conducted by two Korean female bilingual licensed clinical psychologists. The specific aims of this study were to: (1) Implement and evaluate the effects of tailored intervention on perceived stress, coping and quality of life among Korean American breast cancer survivors; and (2) Conduct a process evaluation to assess the feasibility and fidelity of the intervention, which will provide data that can inform the development of future interventions.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALLinguistically and Culturally Tailored Information
Participants received linguistically and culturally tailored information on diet and nutrition, physical activity, managing treatment side effects, follow-up care plans, complementary and alternative medicine, reducing environmental exposure to estrogen, navigating cancer-related financial issues, family history, body image, sexuality, and advances in breast cancer research.
BEHAVIORALCognitive-Behavioral Stress Management
Participants learned and practiced skills related to mindfulness, relaxation, stress reduction, rational thinking, improving coping, enhancing social support, anger management, and assertiveness training.
Sponsors
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
University of Maryland, College Park
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
25 Years to 85 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Living in Maryland, Northern Virginia, or the Washington D.C. metropolitan area * Have been diagnosed with breast cancer * Have had surgery, completed treatment within the last two years, or still receiving adjuvant therapies
Exclusion criteria
* Unable to understand Korean
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) | changes in quality of life during baseline, 7 weeks, and 14 weeks |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cancer Behavior Inventory- Brief Version (CBI-B) | changes in self-efficacy for coping with cancer during baseline, 7 weeks, and 14 weeks | — |
| Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) | changes in stress during baseline, 7 weeks, and 14 weeks | — |
| Additional items to assess improvement in skills/knowledge covered by the intervention program | changes in responses during baseline, 7 weeks, and 14 weeks | Participants were asked 12 multiple choice items on coping with stress, utilizing social support, anger management, assertiveness, and communicating with healthcare providers as well as 1 open-ended item on how participants cope with stress. Multiple choice items were on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from never to very often. |
Outcome results
None listed