Cargando…

Sharing Wisdom, Sharing Hope: Strategies Used by Native American Cancer Survivors to Restore Quality of Life

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the experiences of Native American cancer survivors in navigating life after cancer and what resources and strategies survivors found useful for coping and achieving optimal quality of life (QoL) after diagnosis (the terms “Native Americans...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Bastian, Tiana D., Burhansstipanov, Linda
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Society of Clinical Oncology 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6998019/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32031445
http://dx.doi.org/10.1200/JGO.19.00215
_version_ 1783493791325356032
author Bastian, Tiana D.
Burhansstipanov, Linda
author_facet Bastian, Tiana D.
Burhansstipanov, Linda
author_sort Bastian, Tiana D.
collection PubMed
description PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the experiences of Native American cancer survivors in navigating life after cancer and what resources and strategies survivors found useful for coping and achieving optimal quality of life (QoL) after diagnosis (the terms “Native Americans” and “Natives” are used interchangeably in this article to describe American Indians and Alaska Natives). The research questions were What advice and words of wisdom do Native cancer survivors prioritize in messages to other Native cancer survivors? and What do those messages reveal about how Native cancer survivors interpret, experience, and restore QoL after diagnosis? METHODS: This study used a qualitative phenomenologic descriptive study design. Researchers used thematic analysis to identify themes related to peer advice and QoL from transcripts of semi-structured interviews with 52 geographically and clinically diverse Native cancer survivors in the United States. RESULTS: Survivors’ lived experiences directly informed their advice to other survivors, which was characterized by four themes: listen to your body, advocate for yourself, embrace your culture and spirituality, and share your story. A deeper look into the origins of those messages revealed challenges survivors face balancing their responsibility to care for themselves while simultaneously embracing cultural values of selflessness. CONCLUSION: Providers and researchers should work with Native cancer survivors to identify and leverage existing community strengths in ways that support all aspects of a survivors’ QoL rather than limiting support to a single QoL domain (eg, physical, spiritual, mental/emotional, or social issues). Interventions should ensure that supports and services align with survivors’ cultural values and attend to competing responsibilities to optimize QoL.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-6998019
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2020
publisher American Society of Clinical Oncology
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-69980192020-02-11 Sharing Wisdom, Sharing Hope: Strategies Used by Native American Cancer Survivors to Restore Quality of Life Bastian, Tiana D. Burhansstipanov, Linda JCO Glob Oncol Special Articles PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the experiences of Native American cancer survivors in navigating life after cancer and what resources and strategies survivors found useful for coping and achieving optimal quality of life (QoL) after diagnosis (the terms “Native Americans” and “Natives” are used interchangeably in this article to describe American Indians and Alaska Natives). The research questions were What advice and words of wisdom do Native cancer survivors prioritize in messages to other Native cancer survivors? and What do those messages reveal about how Native cancer survivors interpret, experience, and restore QoL after diagnosis? METHODS: This study used a qualitative phenomenologic descriptive study design. Researchers used thematic analysis to identify themes related to peer advice and QoL from transcripts of semi-structured interviews with 52 geographically and clinically diverse Native cancer survivors in the United States. RESULTS: Survivors’ lived experiences directly informed their advice to other survivors, which was characterized by four themes: listen to your body, advocate for yourself, embrace your culture and spirituality, and share your story. A deeper look into the origins of those messages revealed challenges survivors face balancing their responsibility to care for themselves while simultaneously embracing cultural values of selflessness. CONCLUSION: Providers and researchers should work with Native cancer survivors to identify and leverage existing community strengths in ways that support all aspects of a survivors’ QoL rather than limiting support to a single QoL domain (eg, physical, spiritual, mental/emotional, or social issues). Interventions should ensure that supports and services align with survivors’ cultural values and attend to competing responsibilities to optimize QoL. American Society of Clinical Oncology 2020-01-13 /pmc/articles/PMC6998019/ /pubmed/32031445 http://dx.doi.org/10.1200/JGO.19.00215 Text en © 2020 by American Society of Clinical Oncology https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
spellingShingle Special Articles
Bastian, Tiana D.
Burhansstipanov, Linda
Sharing Wisdom, Sharing Hope: Strategies Used by Native American Cancer Survivors to Restore Quality of Life
title Sharing Wisdom, Sharing Hope: Strategies Used by Native American Cancer Survivors to Restore Quality of Life
title_full Sharing Wisdom, Sharing Hope: Strategies Used by Native American Cancer Survivors to Restore Quality of Life
title_fullStr Sharing Wisdom, Sharing Hope: Strategies Used by Native American Cancer Survivors to Restore Quality of Life
title_full_unstemmed Sharing Wisdom, Sharing Hope: Strategies Used by Native American Cancer Survivors to Restore Quality of Life
title_short Sharing Wisdom, Sharing Hope: Strategies Used by Native American Cancer Survivors to Restore Quality of Life
title_sort sharing wisdom, sharing hope: strategies used by native american cancer survivors to restore quality of life
topic Special Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6998019/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32031445
http://dx.doi.org/10.1200/JGO.19.00215
work_keys_str_mv AT bastiantianad sharingwisdomsharinghopestrategiesusedbynativeamericancancersurvivorstorestorequalityoflife
AT burhansstipanovlinda sharingwisdomsharinghopestrategiesusedbynativeamericancancersurvivorstorestorequalityoflife