Abstract B024: Impact of a Spanish peer support group for women with breast and ovarian cancer
Authors: Cepeda Olympia , Blaufarb Stephanie , Acosta Bremda S. , Escobar Monica , Estrella Maria T. , Santiago Jennie , Sampayo Ivis 
Published: September 2020

Introduction: Cancer is the most frequent cause of death for Latinos in the United States (American Cancer Society, 2018). Language barriers prevent Spanish-speaking patients from fully understanding their diagnosis and from becoming involved in patient centered decision making (Moore, RJ., et al., 2004). 30-45% of women with breast cancer experience substantial psycho-social morbidity in the first two years of survivorship (Burgess C., et al., 2005). LatinaSHARE support groups seek to address these issues by providing emotional support and information about members’ cancer diagnosis in Spanish. Methodology: We conducted an anonymous, in-person and telephone survey in a 30-day period to determine how, if in any way, our Spanish language peer support groups have impacted its members and to identify strengths and areas for improvement in these support groups. Out of 250 current support group members, we collected 89 responses (36%). 52 responses were collected in-person in support groups and 37 responses were collected over the phone. The survey instrument included 19 questions: 4 open-ended qualitative questions, 13 multiple choice questions, and two Likert scale questions. The questions focused on whether women were emotionally supported, acquired more information about their diagnosis, and are more comfortable advocating for themselves with their doctors. Results: 100% of respondents reported that attending the support group helped them generally. 89% reported they were helped by receiving support. 76% of respondents reported they were helped by receiving information. 100% of respondents felt more confident when talking about cancer with their doctors or their friends. 87% of respondents felt more confident when talking about their cancer with their family. In the qualitative analysis, some themes emerged around what was most beneficial to group members, including: information and education, emotional support, peer guidance, community, fellowship, and sharing with others. When support group attendees were asked what they found least beneficial, one important theme emerged, that the once a month groups should meet more often. Conclusions: The results demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of Spanish language peer support groups for breast and ovarian cancer survivors. These groups provide support, information and prepare members to better communicate with their doctors, friends and family about their diagnosis. It is unclear why some respondents did not feel more confident speaking about their diagnosis with their spouse/partner (33%). However, some respondents may not have a spouse or partner so this question should be included in future research. To address the qualitative theme that groups would like to meet more often, programs staff will investigate the feasibility of adding more frequent meetings. Some limitations include small sample size and a lack of validity testing of the instrument.

Citation Format: Olympia Cepeda, Stephanie Blaufarb, Bremda S. Acosta, Monica Escobar, Maria T. Estrella, Jennie Santiago, Ivis Sampayo. Impact of a Spanish peer support group for women with breast and ovarian cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr B024.