Symptoms, self-care, and quality of life of Chinese American patients with cancer.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To explore the cancer symptom experience, self-care strategies, and quality of life (QOL) among Chinese Americans during outpatient chemotherapy.

DESIGN

Descriptive, exploratory cohort study.

SETTING

An outpatient infusion unit at a public urban county medical center.

SAMPLE

25 Chinese-speaking patients with cancer completed the study. Participants were first-generation immigrants with low levels of acculturation; 88% could not read English; 64% had an annual household income of less than $20,000.

METHODS

Participants completed a basic demographics data sheet, the Suinn-Lew Acculturation Scale, the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale and Self-Care Diary weekly for three weeks, and the Multidimensional QOL Scale-Cancer and Short-Form 36 Health Survey at the start and end of one chemotherapy cycle. Study instruments were translated into Chinese.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES

Symptoms, self-care, QOL, and acculturation.

FINDINGS

Participants reported experiencing about 14 symptoms weekly. Lack of energy, hair loss, dry mouth, sleep difficulty, and loss of appetite were reported most frequently. On average, about two self-care strategies per symptom were reported and were low to moderate in effectiveness. About 20% of the sample listed Chinese medicine as part of their self-care strategies. A moderate level of QOL was reported.

CONCLUSIONS

Using translated standardized questionnaires can be a feasible method of data collection in studies with non-English-speaking patients. However, having well-trained, bilingual data collectors is important. More attention to long-term cancer self-management in minority patients with cancer is needed.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING

Further research is needed with larger samples, more efficient community-based recruitment strategies, and the development and testing of culturally sensitive interventions.