Haynes-Maslow Lindsey, Allicock Marlyn, Johnson La-Shell
Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 7606, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.
Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas, Austin, USA.
Support Care Cancer. 2017 May;25(5):1511-1517. doi: 10.1007/s00520-016-3550-2. Epub 2016 Dec 28.
Breast cancer mortality rates continue to improve due to advances in cancer control and treatment. However, gains in breast cancer survival rates vary by race. Psychosocial support systems can lead to improved health outcomes among cancer survivors. This study was a part of a larger study exploring the challenges that both African-American cancer survivors and caregivers face across the cancer continuum. The objective of this paper was to explore African-American breast cancer survivors' and caregivers' preferences regarding characteristics and qualities of Peer Connect guides to inform the development of a peer support program.
Forty-one African-American cancer survivors and caregivers participated in five focus groups lasting approximately 90 min. Participants were asked about what qualities or characteristics they would prefer in a peer support guide to make them feel comfortable talking with them. Focus group transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis, an iterative coding process. Themes were identified based on the research team's integrated and unified final codes.
Twenty-two cancer survivors, 19 caregivers, and 3 individuals who were both survivors and caregivers participated in the focus groups. Participants discussed five preferences for peer support guides: (1) competency, (2) gender, (3) age, (4) cancer role status, and (5) relationship to participant.
This study highlights cancer survivors' and caregivers' perceptions of characteristics needed for peer support providers that in turn can influence whether and how they participate in cancer support programs.
由于癌症控制和治疗方面的进展，乳腺癌死亡率持续下降。然而，乳腺癌生存率的提高因种族而异。社会心理支持系统可改善癌症幸存者的健康状况。本研究是一项更大规模研究的一部分，该研究探讨了非裔美国癌症幸存者及其护理人员在整个癌症病程中所面临的挑战。本文的目的是探究非裔美国乳腺癌幸存者及其护理人员对同伴互助指导者的特征和品质的偏好，以为同伴支持项目的开展提供参考。
41名非裔美国癌症幸存者及其护理人员参加了5个焦点小组，每个小组持续约90分钟。参与者被问及他们希望同伴支持指导者具备哪些品质或特征，以便让他们在与之交谈时感到自在。焦点小组的文字记录采用主题内容分析法进行分析，这是一个反复编码的过程。主题是根据研究团队整合统一后的最终编码确定的。
22名癌症幸存者、19名护理人员以及3名既是幸存者又是护理人员的个体参加了焦点小组。参与者讨论了对同伴支持指导者的5个偏好：（1）能力，（2）性别，（3）年龄，（4）癌症角色状态，以及（5）与参与者的关系。
本研究突出了癌症幸存者及其护理人员对同伴支持提供者所需特征的看法，这些看法反过来可能会影响他们是否以及如何参与癌症支持项目。
