Abstract
Background: African American (AA) women are more likely to be given a diagnosis of breast cancer at an early age, experience morbidity after treatment, and exhibit disparities in survivorship. Although psychosocial well-being is largely studied among breast cancer survivors, data are sparse regarding young AA survivors.
Objective: This integrative review examined psychosocial concerns in survivorship among young AA survivors using a quality-of-life framework.
Methods: PubMed, CINHAL, EMBASE, PsychINFO, and Scopus were searched for articles exploring psychosocial well-being in young AA survivors.
Results: The search yielded 237 articles that were retrieved and reviewed for relevance. Of these, 16 articles were selected based on inclusion/exclusion criteria. Data were evaluated and synthesized based on the quality-of-life model. Selected articles omitted the study of several psychological subconstructs and identified existing psychosocial concerns that require mitigation.
Conclusions: The review revealed key areas of psychosocial concerns among young AA survivors including ongoing anxiety/depression, cognitive changes, and relationships. Identified gaps include paucity of research with young AA survivors and their residual psychosocial concerns.
Implications for Practice: Review findings indicate a need to increase survivorship research on young AA survivors. Researchers, clinicians, and young AA survivors must partner in efforts to understand psychosocial concerns and translate findings into clinical practice (ie, use of psychosocial distress tools, distress de-escalation protocols, and individualized survivorship care plans) toward reduction of quality-of-life health disparities among young AA survivors.