A test of the self-help model and use of complementary and alternative medicine among Hispanic women during treatment for breast cancer.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To describe the relationships in Braden's Self-Help Model of side-effect burden to uncertainty, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), self-care, and quality of life (QOL) in Hispanic women during breast cancer treatment. DESIGN Descriptive, correlational; convenience sample; cross-sectional design. SETTING An outpatient oncology clinic in a public setting of a metropolitan community in southern Texas. SAMPLE 137 Hispanic women receiving or completing treatment for breast cancer. METHODS Participants completed a comprehensive set of instruments. Analyses included a correlation of variables and multiple regressions to examine variables for potential theoretical relationships. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES CAM use, uncertainty, and enabling skills. FINDINGS CAM use as a resource to reduce uncertainty for Hispanic women during breast cancer treatment was not supported. As a type of self-care, CAM was minimally effective in improving QOL. The greater the side-effect burden that Hispanic women experienced, the more uncertainty and depression and lower QOL scores were found. In contrast, women who were involved in CAM self-care had higher QOL scores. CONCLUSIONS The study results provide valuable information about understanding CAM's role during breast cancer therapy among Hispanic women. The model-testing findings indicated strong support for a predicted pattern in Braden's Self-Help Model with a slight trend for CAM as a special type of self-care. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING The findings further inform the concept development of CAM and model building. Additional research with a longitudinal design is needed to understand how CAM is used throughout the breast cancer treatment trajectory and will contribute to knowledge guiding nurses in facilitating self-care interventions for Hispanic women.