Breast Cancer
Conditions
Keywords
focus group, sexual health, intimacy, quality of life, support
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences, emotional challenges, and coping processes related to changes in sexual health and intimacy among women diagnosed with breast cancer. Insights gained from participants' personal experiences will provide a deeper understanding of patients' informational, emotional, and relational support needs, which will inform the development of an AI-driven digital support platform aimed at delivering personalized education, facilitating communication, and improving overall quality of life among women living with and beyond breast cancer in Florida. The study involves focus group discussions conducted via Zoom and online questionnaires administered to breast cancer patients and survivors.
Interventions
The study involves focus group discussions conducted via Zoom and online questionnaires administered to breast cancer patients and survivors.
Sponsors
University of Central Florida
Study design
Observational model
CASE_ONLY
Time perspective
CROSS_SECTIONAL
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* female * diagnosed with breast cancer (current patients and survivors); * can provide informed consent; * are self-reporting that they are emotionally (based on clinical questionnaires below) and * are self-reporting that they are physically able to participate in a 60-minute group discussion.
Exclusion criteria
* prisoners * unable to understand English and provide consent
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Qualitative Foundation for Understanding Sexual Health and Intimacy Experiences of Women Diagnosed with Breast Cancer during Focus Group Discussion. | 3 months | To explore how women with breast cancer experience, interpret, and cope with changes in sexual health, intimacy, body image, and partner relationships, and to extract themes that capture shared patterns in lived experiences across participants. This qualitative exploration will employ grounded theory methods to understand intimacy related changes and coping processes in the context of cancer diagnosis and treatment. |
| Sexual functioning assessment using Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) | 3 Months | A validated multidimensional questionnaire assessing sexual desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain, and is widely used in breast cancer survivorship research to evaluate sexual functioning |
| Sexual Distress Assessment using Female Sexual Distress Scale Revised (FSDS R) | 3 months | A validated screening instrument measuring sexually related personal distress, which helps determine the emotional burden associated with sexual dysfunction. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Develop a Grounded Theory Framework for a Pilot Survey Instrument | 1 year | Using grounded theory analysis, emergent qualitative themes will be translated into measurable constructs to inform the design of a lived experience-based pilot survey instrument assessing sexual health and intimacy concerns following breast cancer. This instrument will later be refined and validated in a subsequent quantitative study to evaluate sexual well-being and coping patterns in larger breast cancer populations, supporting theory development and instrument construction through iterative qualitative to quantitative integration. |
| Identify Key Themes and Topics for Conversational AI Design | 1 year | To identify language patterns, discussion topics, and interaction themes that can inform supportive care capable of responding empathetically and contextually to sexual health, intimacy, and relationship concerns associated with breast cancer. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed