Anxiety and depression among Black breast cancer survivors: Examining the role of patient-provider communication and cultural values.
Paige W Lake, Claire C Conley, Tuya Pal and 2 others
PMID 35440374WHAT IT FOUND
Black breast cancer survivors who rated their provider communication as better and felt more confident communicating with providers reported lower anxiety and depression.
The study cannot show that communication caused lower anxiety and depression.
Key findings
01Higher combined patient-provider communication was associated with lower anxiety (beta = -0.135, p = 0.01) and lower depression (beta = -0.103, p = 0.04) after controlling for education, employment status, partner status, and health status.
02Average anxiety and depression scores were below the clinical cutoff, but 140 participants (40%) had clinically significant anxiety and 70 (20%) had clinically significant depression.
03Cultural values were not associated with anxiety (p = 0.65) and had only a marginally significant association with depression (p = 0.06).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study measured communication and symptoms at one time, so it cannot show which way the link runs. Survivors with more anxiety or depression may also perceive communication as worse. Only 54% of women who were reached consented to the parent study, so the sample may not represent all Black breast cancer survivors. All key variables were self-reported, so answers may reflect mood, expectations, or social desirability rather than objective communication. The researchers collapsed communication and cultural values into broad groups because the raw scores were very skewed, which loses detail and precision. The models explained only 10% of anxiety and 16% of depression, so many unmeasured factors likely matter.
Declared interests
The supplied metadata lists NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support. The article text does not state a commercial funder or author conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that better provider communication will reduce anxiety and depression. This was a cross-sectional survey, not a test of a communication intervention, and it cannot rule out that worse symptoms made communication seem worse.