Cancer Navigation for Vietnamese Americans (CANVAS)
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2025

description: Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Vietnamese American (VA) women in California, and Orange County has the largest population of Vietnamese Americans in the U.S. This pilot project was initiated by the Vietnamese American Cancer Foundation (VACF) based on their longstanding experiences in community supportive services and their interests in research that is historically-informed, generationally-grounded, and culturally-tailored for Vietnamese American women. Using community-based participatory research (CBPR) processes, the long-term goal of this pilot project is to decrease breast cancer mortality through enhanced lay patient navigation that addresses the unique psychosocial needs of VA women with breast cancer. The research team brings together expertise in CBPR, breast cancer navigation programs, mental health and social support, all among VA women. Question(s) or hypotheses: The primary research questions for this pilot study are: what are the psychosocial needs of VA women with breast cancer? General methodology: We will conduct both quantitative surveys with a convenience sample of 60 VA women with breast cancer to understand the prevalence of specific psychosocial needs, and follow-up qualitative, in-depth interviews with a subset of 15 women to further explore how culture, stigma, and possible intervention efforts may influence their needs. CBPR methods will strengthen our community-university collaborative, inform the tailoring of study surveys and interview guides, and generate intervention ideas for future research development and testing. Innovative elements: This pilot CANVAS study is innovative in several ways. First, it is based upon real-world observations and questions by VACF staff about what they can do to understand and address the unique psychosocial needs of their clients. Second, existing research on Asian breast cancer focuses on navigation to breast cancer screening or support for long-term survivorship, and existing breast cancer navigation research focuses on clinic-based models of coordination. Thus, this study fills an important gap in the research literature by focusing on the psychosocial needs of VA women that may be amenable to community-based lay patient navigation services. Community involvement: The idea for this study was generated by staff at VACF and further informed by meetings with three VA doctors with significant experience treating breast cancer. They provided important input on the barriers to care among breast cancer patients. Lastly, we met with members of our Community Advisory Board (CAB) (which includes five Vietnamese breast cancer survivors) to review the research questions, methodology and timeline. The Vietnamese community in Orange County will be involved in this pilot project in several ways. Our CAB will actively participate in all aspects of the project implementation, including refinement of the interview guide and survey, training of VACF navigators as project interviewers, participant recruitment, data collection and analyses, intervention ideas development, and community and scientific dissemination. VACF staff will serve as study leaders, interviewers, and data analyzers. The study team also includes a well-known Vietnamese American psychologist who has worked on community mental health, family, community and social issues since 2002. We will seek approval of all study protocols and instruments from both university and community IRBs. Future Plans: Based upon the successful completion of this proposed study, we hope to pursue a future research grant to test the efficacy of a novel, culturally appropriate psychosocial intervention for VA