220711 Mental Health Psychosocial Findings from 600 Native Cancer Survivors

Monday, November 8, 2010

Linda Burhansstipanov, DrPH , Native American Cancer Research Corporation, Pine, CO
Linda U. Krebs, PhD, RN, AOCN, FAAN , College of Nursing, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO
Brenda Seals, PhD, MPH , Rides Over Mountains Consulting, Bailey, CO
Mark Dignan, PhD , Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Native American Cancer Education for Survivors" (NACES) is designed to improve the quality of life (QOL) of cancer patients by increasing knowledge and informed choice using innovative, tailored web-based technology. The intervention is based on the Medicine Wheel (body, mind, emotions, spirits) and includes the following components: spirituality, communication, treatment, clinical trials, side effects, palliative care, other health problems, supportive care and resources. Trained Native Patient Advocates implement a four-part QOL survey and the intervention. The survivor may also use the survey and intervention independently. The education intervention is easy-to-understand (reading level grades 5 to 7) and can be tailored to the individual survivor. By winter 2010, more than 600 Native American cancer survivors have completed the QOL survey. 81.8% (n=446) of the participants self-reported their mental health as okay or excellent and almost all (n=519; 93.7%) said their life was satisfying. Almost half (n=262; 47.5%) said they were happy a few days to most days each week. The majority (n=491. 71.5%) felt they had fair to good control over their cancer. However, almost two-thirds (n=358; 65.3%) reported their lives as very or fairly stressful. Also, disconcertingly, a large proportion (n=239; 43.9%) reported their lives served little to no usefulness. Although the survivors documented many challenges, more importantly, they reported a message of hope and most (87.1%) said they were mentally able to do most or everything they wanted or needed to do daily. Data about how their cancer diagnosis affected others will be shared.

Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Chronic disease management and prevention
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Diversity and culture
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Identify at least 4 mental-emotional findings from the Native American cancer survivors' quality of life survey. Describe at least 3 Native American cancer survivors' mental-emotional health disparities. Understand quality of life issues as they relate to interval since diagnosis for Native Americans cancer survivors.

Keywords: Quality of Life, Cancer

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Dr. Burhansstipanov has been a leader in research on cancer survival for Native Americans since the late 80's. She has been Principal Investigator for over 30 grants and contracts and has widely published data for this unique population. She was one of the first authors to define and implement Community Based Participatory Research and has a concern for the mental health needs of cancer survivors. Her online intervention for NACES is freely available on the www.natamcancer.org website.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.