Supporting Black breast cancer survivors and their informal caregivers: a qualitative dyadic analysis of intervention preferences.

Abstract

Background: Cancer affects not only patients but also their informal caregivers. Dyadic interventions hold promise but are rarely integrated into clinical care, and few have been developed for Black women in particular.

Purpose: We centered the voices of Black breast cancer survivors and female caregivers to understand their experiences with cancer and their preferences for psychosocial intervention.

Methods: Twenty survivors and their female, nonpartner caregivers (10 dyads) participated in semistructured Zoom interviews. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed to examine themes related to psychosocial intervention preferences.

Results: Five themes emerged: (1) "Being able to have that combination would be awesome": Desiring an intervention that helps survivors and caregivers both separately and together, (2) "Whatever their preference is": Tradeoffs to teleconferencing vs in-person interventions, (3) "Therapy scares people sometimes": Pros and cons to terminology, (4) "I would just like to have more knowledge": Proposed intervention topics and characteristics, and (5) "Cancer's not a Black thing" vs "we really see things different": A range of opinions about a service/program for Black women in particular. One overarching theme involved taking a dyadic perspective on intervention by considering the needs and preferences of both members of a pair.

Conclusions: Participants expressed support for dyadic interventions, especially those that would address survivors and caregivers both as individuals and as a pair, and they described how caregivers in particular may have unmet needs for emotional support. Findings provide rich information about participants' preferences and highlight the value and challenges of taking a dyadic approach to intervention.