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Hispanic breast cancer patients’ symptom experience and patient-physician communication during chemotherapy

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Abstract

Objective

Patient-clinician communication difficulties are a major barrier to effective symptom management during chemotherapy especially among non-English-speaking and minority patients. This study sought to examine how information is exchanged between patients and clinicians during chemotherapy treatment regarding pain, depression, fatigue, and nausea experienced among the most prevalent non-English-speaking group in the USA, Hispanic breast cancer survivors.

Methods

Hispanic breast cancer patients and clinicians participated in focus groups to examine Hispanic breast cancer survivors’ experience and patient-physician communication of symptoms during chemotherapy. Three separate focus groups (English language with patients, Spanish language with patients, and English language with clinicians) were conducted. All participants completed a demographic questionnaire.

Results

Six breast cancer survivors participated in the English-language focus group, ten breast cancer survivors participated in the Spanish-language focus group, and five clinicians participated. Presence and communication of depressive symptoms between the English- and Spanish-language groups differed, with the majority of the English-language group sharing their experiences of depressive symptoms while those in the Spanish-language group did not report depressive symptoms. Results also indicated that most patients were unhappy with the response of clinicians regarding their reported symptoms. Several barriers to effective patient-clinician communication, including limited physician time, lack of patient knowledge, timidity, and language, were identified.

Conclusion

The findings of this study underscore the need to improve patient-physician communication during chemotherapy to reduce the symptom burden among Hispanic breast cancer patients.

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Acknowledgements

We would also like to acknowledge the breast cancer survivors and clinicians who were part of our focus groups.

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Author notes

  1. Douglas M. Post is deceased. This paper is dedicated to his memory.

    • Douglas M. Post
Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jessica L. Krok-Schoen.

Ethics declarations

Informed consent procedures and study protocols were approved by the Institutional Review Boards of the participating clinics and universities.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Krok-Schoen, J.L., Fernandez, K., Unzeitig, G.W. et al. Hispanic breast cancer patients’ symptom experience and patient-physician communication during chemotherapy. Support Care Cancer 27, 697–704 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-018-4375-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-018-4375-y

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