We Don’t Talk about It: Cancer Pain and American Indian Survivors
Pain is a common symptom among cancer survivors, yet is rarely talked about by American Indians. Understanding the reasons for reduced communication by American Indian cancer survivors is important for healthcare providers, family members, and others providing treatment and support for cancer sympto...
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MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Cancers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/12/7/1932 |
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doaj-42a72dbd1b22418c90d9d0d8cd12b2962020-11-25T03:20:51ZengMDPI AGCancers2072-66942020-07-01121932193210.3390/cancers12071932We Don’t Talk about It: Cancer Pain and American Indian SurvivorsFelicia Schanche Hodge0Tracy Line Itty1Christine Samuel-Nakamura2Mary Cadogan3School of Nursing, University of California, 700 Tiverton Avenue, Room 5-934A Factor Building, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1702, USASchool of Nursing, University of California, 700 Tiverton Avenue, Room 5-934A Factor Building, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1702, USASchool of Nursing, University of California, 700 Tiverton Avenue, Room 5-934A Factor Building, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1702, USASchool of Nursing, University of California, 700 Tiverton Avenue, Room 5-934A Factor Building, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1702, USAPain is a common symptom among cancer survivors, yet is rarely talked about by American Indians. Understanding the reasons for reduced communication by American Indian cancer survivors is important for healthcare providers, family members, and others providing treatment and support for cancer symptoms. Thirteen focus groups with Southwest American Indian adult cancer survivors were audiotaped and transcribed as part of a randomized intervention to remove barriers to cancer symptom management. Constant comparative methods were employed in the data analysis, topic categories were grouped for comparison, and final assessment followed Grounded Theory methods. Findings were categorized into two major groupings: communication with family members and communication with health care providers. Within these two groupings, three themes emerged to describe cancer pain experiences and communication barriers: (1) We don’t talk about it, (2) Respect for healthcare providers; and (3) Culturally prohibitive topics on death and pain experiences. Not talking about their cancer diagnosis and cancer-related pain leaves many American Indian cancer survivors without much-needed social support, contributing to reduced treatment compliance and access to healthcare. Findings have implications for educational interventions and quality of life improvement for American Indian and other underrepresented communities.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/12/7/1932American Indiancancer paincancer survivorscultural competencycommunication |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
English |
| format |
Article |
| sources |
DOAJ |
| author |
Felicia Schanche Hodge Tracy Line Itty Christine Samuel-Nakamura Mary Cadogan |
| spellingShingle |
Felicia Schanche Hodge Tracy Line Itty Christine Samuel-Nakamura Mary Cadogan We Don’t Talk about It: Cancer Pain and American Indian Survivors Cancers American Indian cancer pain cancer survivors cultural competency communication |
| author_facet |
Felicia Schanche Hodge Tracy Line Itty Christine Samuel-Nakamura Mary Cadogan |
| author_sort |
Felicia Schanche Hodge |
| title |
We Don’t Talk about It: Cancer Pain and American Indian Survivors |
| title_short |
We Don’t Talk about It: Cancer Pain and American Indian Survivors |
| title_full |
We Don’t Talk about It: Cancer Pain and American Indian Survivors |
| title_fullStr |
We Don’t Talk about It: Cancer Pain and American Indian Survivors |
| title_full_unstemmed |
We Don’t Talk about It: Cancer Pain and American Indian Survivors |
| title_sort |
we don’t talk about it: cancer pain and american indian survivors |
| publisher |
MDPI AG |
| series |
Cancers |
| issn |
2072-6694 |
| publishDate |
2020-07-01 |
| description |
Pain is a common symptom among cancer survivors, yet is rarely talked about by American Indians. Understanding the reasons for reduced communication by American Indian cancer survivors is important for healthcare providers, family members, and others providing treatment and support for cancer symptoms. Thirteen focus groups with Southwest American Indian adult cancer survivors were audiotaped and transcribed as part of a randomized intervention to remove barriers to cancer symptom management. Constant comparative methods were employed in the data analysis, topic categories were grouped for comparison, and final assessment followed Grounded Theory methods. Findings were categorized into two major groupings: communication with family members and communication with health care providers. Within these two groupings, three themes emerged to describe cancer pain experiences and communication barriers: (1) We don’t talk about it, (2) Respect for healthcare providers; and (3) Culturally prohibitive topics on death and pain experiences. Not talking about their cancer diagnosis and cancer-related pain leaves many American Indian cancer survivors without much-needed social support, contributing to reduced treatment compliance and access to healthcare. Findings have implications for educational interventions and quality of life improvement for American Indian and other underrepresented communities. |
| topic |
American Indian cancer pain cancer survivors cultural competency communication |
| url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/12/7/1932 |
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