Using photo-elicitation to explore challenges and creativity in self-managing breast cancer-related lymphedema and work by U.S. Hispanic/Latina survivors : a case study approach
Abstract
Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a sequela of breast cancer treatment. Women diagnosed with breast cancer have a lifetime risk of developing this incurable condition. A growing ethnic population in the United States, Hispanic/Latina women have been shown to experience lower breast cancer incidence rates, but poorer survival outcomes. For survivors, BCRL can have a profound negative impact on economic, psychosocial, emotional, and functional treatment outcomes. Its impact on the ability to work touches all these factors. Little is known or documented about the impact of BCRL self-management on work for Hispanic/Latina survivors. The specific aim of this study was to explore the impact of BCRL self-management on work for Hispanic/Latina survivors. The research questions addressed: How work and BCRL-self-management change as a result of BCRL; is there a reciprocal relationship between work and BCRL as experienced by survivors; and how work and BCRL self-management impact each other. This qualitative study uses a secondary analysis of a Hispanic/Latina return-to-work dataset in combination with a photo-elicitation interview case study to explore the challenges of BCRL self-management and how it impacts and shapes work activities for the Hispanic/Latina survivor. The themes of importance of support relationships, family adaptation, and obstacles encountered in self-managing BCRL and work activities were identified. These findings: 1) shed light on the challenges faced by this ethnic population; 2) provide the lived community, families, and healthcare professionals with a glimpse of the survivorship experience; and 3) communicate cultural beliefs and health behaviors that may support effective survivorship care for a lifetime.
Degree
Ph. D.