Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Jul 23, 2025
Date Accepted: May 6, 2026
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Lessons learned from implementing a Culturally Tailored Virtual Support Program for Asian American Breast Cancer Survivors with Pain and Depression: A discussion paper
ABSTRACT
Background:
Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer among women in the U.S., with a greater increase in incidence among Asian American women than among others. Despite having resided in the U.S. for decades, Asian American breast cancer survivors face unique cultural challenges, including stigma and reluctance to disclose their illness.
Objective:
This study aimed to discuss practical issues encountered in implementing a culturally tailored, technology-based program aimed at reducing pain and depressive symptoms in Asian American breast cancer survivors.
Methods:
This study was analyzed using simple content analysis based on meeting minutes and research diaries from the parent study to identify themes related to practical issues in conducting a culturally tailored, technology-based intervention among Asian American breast cancer survivors with pain and depressive symptoms.
Results:
Key issues identified include (a) reluctance to disclose; (b) variability in engagement, based on disease status; (c) need for personalized support; and (d) intra-ethnic differences related to various factors.
Conclusions:
Suggestions for future research include (a) tailoring communication to participants’ preferences while building trust over time, (b) applying flexible care strategies, (c) assessing individual needs early and adapting materials based on feedback, (d) matching participants with interventionists according to language and level of acculturation, and (e) respecting differences in cultural identities between ethnic subgroups. Addressing these challenges can improve the effectiveness of technology-based interventions for racial/ethnic minority groups Clinical Trial: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06085313; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06085313
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.