Alternative Mental Health Interventions for Hispanic Women With Breast Cancer: A State of the Science Review
Abstract
Introduction: Current disadvantages in accessing healthcare services, particularly mental health resources, result in increased psychological dysfunction among Hispanic women with advanced breast cancer. Little is known about using alternative nonpharmacological therapies for Hispanic women experiencing psychological distress secondary to a breast cancer diagnosis. This state-of-the-science paper synthesizes current culturally appropriate alternative therapies that effectively address depressive symptoms, anxiety, and psychological distress among Hispanic women with breast cancer (HWBC). Methods: The search criteria included published articles that used alternative interventions to address psychological needs among HWBC. Ten studies met the inclusion criteria. Results: Four alternative interventions were identified in the literature that significantly met the cultural mental health needs of HWBC. Mindfulness and technology use were the two interventions most studied in this review. Conclusion: Evidence indicates that alternative therapies for mental health improve overall quality of life. Further research to attenuate psychological distress is needed to meet mental health needs among HWBC. Innovative methods such as the use of technology and mindfulness as well as integrating personalized care are crucial to address the cultural needs of HWBC.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Hispanic patients are at risk for increased distress related to breast cancer such as depression, anxiety, decreased quality of life and fear of recurrence.
“For example, Hispanic patients are at risk for increased distress related to breast cancer such as depression, anxiety, decreased quality of life and fear of recurrence [8].”
From Psychological Intervention and Breast Cancer (2024) · cites this paper as [8]
Effective interventions for Hispanic women with breast cancer can include building on coping strategies such as social support, humor, and spirituality, as well as strategies including mindfulness, meditation, and telehealth options.
“Effective interventions for Hispanic women with breast cancer can include building on coping strategies such as social support, humor, and spirituality, as well as strategies including mindfulness, meditation, and telehealth options [8].”
From Psychological Intervention and Breast Cancer (2024) · cites this paper as [8]
Cites
The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., et al. (2021) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.n71 · Cited by 108,283 · see citing works
(2019) · doi:10.1188/19.onf · Cited by 3,233 · see citing works
Lyman, G. H., Greenlee, H., Bohlke, K., Bao, T., DeMichele, A. M., Deng, G. E., Fouladbakhsh, J. M., Gil, B., Hershman, D. L., Mansfield, S., et al. (2018) · Journal of Clinical Oncology · doi:10.1200/jco.2018.79.2721 · Cited by 420 · see citing works
Cancer statistics for the US Hispanic/Latino population, 2021
Miller, K. D., Ortiz, A. P., Pinheiro, P. S., Bandi, P., Minihan, A. K., Fuchs, H. E., Tyson, D. M., Tortolero‐Luna, G., Fedewa, S. A., Jemal, A., et al. (2021) · CA A Cancer Journal for Clinicians · doi:10.3322/caac.21695 · Cited by 405 · see citing works
American journal of public health
(1993) · Journal of the American Dietetic Association · doi:10.1016/0002-8223(93)91845-h · Cited by 279 · see citing works
The impact of familism on physical and mental health among Hispanics in the United States
Perez, G. K., & Cruess, D. G. (2011) · Health Psychology Review · doi:10.1080/17437199.2011.569936 · Cited by 232 · see citing works
Lengacher, C. A., Reich, R. R., Kip, K. E., Barta, M., Ramesar, S., Paterson, C. L., Moscoso, M. S., Carranza, I., Budhrani, P. H., Kim, S. J., et al. (2014) · Biological Research For Nursing · doi:10.1177/1099800413519495 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
North American Association of Central Cancer Registries
National Cancer Institute (2020) · Definitions · doi:10.32388/cjvuuq · Cited by 161 · see citing works
Lengacher, C. A., Reich, R. R., Ramesar, S., Alinat, C. B., Moscoso, M., Cousin, L., Marino, V. R., Elias, M. N., Paterson, C. L., Pleasant, M. L., et al. (2018) · Psycho-Oncology · doi:10.1002/pon.4491 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Badger, T. A., Segrin, C. G., Sikorskii, A. E., Pasvogel, A. E., Weihs, K. L., López, A. M., & Chalasani, P. (2019) · Psychology and Health · doi:10.1080/08870446.2019.1626395 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
A telephonic-based trial to reduce depressive symptoms among Latina breast cancer survivors
Ashing, K. T., & Rosales, M. (2013) · Psycho-Oncology · doi:10.1002/pon.3441 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Breast cancer and coping among women of color: a systematic review of the literature
Yoo, G. J., Levine, E. G., & Pasick, R. J. (2014) · Supportive Care in Cancer · doi:10.1007/s00520-013-2057-3 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Charlson, M. E., Loizzo, J. J., Moadel, A. B., Neale, M., Newman, C., Olivo, E. L., Wolf, E. J., & Peterson, J. C. (2014) · BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine · doi:10.1186/1472-6882-14-349 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
González, P., Nuñez, A., Wang-Letzkus, M. F., Lim, J., Flores, K. F., & Nápoles, A. M. (2015) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/hea0000263 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Ashing, K. T., George, M., & Jones, V. (2018) · Psycho-Oncology · doi:10.1002/pon.4650 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Segrin, C. G., Badger, T. A., & Sikorskii, A. E. (2018) · Journal of Psychosocial Oncology · doi:10.1080/07347332.2018.1520778 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Lee, H., & Singh, G. K. (2021) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1093/abm/kaaa111 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Costas-Muñíz, R., Hunter-Hernández, M., Garduño-Ortega, O., Morales-Cruz, J., & Gany, F. M. (2017) · Journal of Psychosocial Oncology · doi:10.1080/07347332.2017.1310167 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Praying to win this battle: Cancer Metaphors in Latina and Spanish Women’s Narratives
Magaña, D. (2019) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2019.1582310 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Gonzales, F. A., Hurtado‐de‐Mendoza, A., Santoyo‐Olsson, J., & Nápoles, A. M. (2015) · Psycho-Oncology · doi:10.1002/pon.3953 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Trogdon, J. G., Ekwueme, D. U., Chamiec‐Case, L., & Guy, G. P. (2016) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2015.09.026 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Tejeda, S., Stolley, M. R., Vijayasiri, G., Campbell, R. T., Ferrans, C. E., Warnecke, R. B., & Rauscher, G. H. (2017) · Psycho-Oncology · doi:10.1002/pon.4456 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Escalera, C., Santoyo‐Olsson, J., Stewart, A. L., Ortíz, C., & Nápoles, A. M. (2019) · Psycho-Oncology · doi:10.1002/pon.5154 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Emotions and Coping Strategies During Breast Cancer in Latina Women: A Focus Group Study
Castillo, A., Mendiola, J. A., & Tiemensma, J. (2019) · Hispanic Health Care International · doi:10.1177/1540415319837680 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
McNulty, J., Kim, W., Thurston, T., Kim, J., & Larkey, L. (2016) · Oncology nursing forum · doi:10.1188/16.onf.374-384 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Dieli-Conwright, C. M., Fox, F., Tripathy, D., Sami, N., Fleet, J. V., Buchanan, T. A., SPICER, D. V., Lee, K., Mortimer, J. E., Bernstein, L., et al. (2020) · Journal of Cancer Survivorship · doi:10.1007/s11764-020-00918-3 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Segrin, C. G., Badger, T. A., & Sikorskii, A. E. (2019) · Journal of Transcultural Nursing · doi:10.1177/1043659619896824 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Sanchez-Birkhead, A., Carbajal-Salisbury, S., Larreta, J. A., Lovlien, L., Hendricks, H. M., Dingley, C., & Beck, S. L. (2017) · Hispanic Health Care International · doi:10.1177/1540415317738016 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Segrin, C. G., Badger, T. A., & Pasvogel, A. E. (2015) · The Open Psychology Journal · doi:10.2174/1874350101508010105 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Smetherman, D. H., Biggs, K. W., Fayanju, O. M., Grosskreutz, S. R., Khan, Z., Malak, S. F., Moseley, T. W., Smith-Graziani, D. J., Valero, V., & Lightfoote, J. B. (2021) · Journal of Breast Imaging · doi:10.1093/jbi/wbab081 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Dibble, K. E., Baumgartner, R., Boone, S. D., Baumgartner, K. B., & Connor, A. E. (2021) · Breast Cancer Research and Treatment · doi:10.1007/s10549-021-06261-0 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Creating community: Expanding access to psychosocial programs for Latina breast cancer survivors
Buki, L. P., Schwartz, J. R., & McInerney, E. E. W. (2021) · Psycho-Oncology · doi:10.1002/pon.5646 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Castro, E., Torres‐Blasco, N., Castro, W. P., Padilla, N., Toro-Morales, Y., Beauchamp, A., González, K., & Costas-Muñíz, R. (2023) · Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved · doi:10.1353/hpu.2023.0043 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Psychological Intervention and Breast Cancer
Ashton, K., & Oney, K. (2024) · Current Breast Cancer Reports · doi:10.1007/s12609-024-00559-w · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“Effective interventions for Hispanic women with breast cancer can include building on coping strategies such as social support, humor, and spirituality, as well as strategies including mindfulness, meditation, and telehealth options [8].”
Gonzalez‐Voller, J., Schumacher, A. R., Nguyen, J., Kilbourn, K. M., Okuyama, S., Fullwood, C. R., & Borrayo, E. A. (2025) · Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1177/07399863251357733
- Authors
- Llamas, D. M., & Langan, J. C.
- Affiliations
- Saint Louis University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Llamas, Diana M.
- Venue
- Hispanic Health Care International
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2024-01-22
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 225-236
- ISSN
- 1540-4153 (ISSN-L)
- 1938-8993
- OpenAlex
- W4391142941
- Cited by
- 2
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 1
- FWCI
- 0.11
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Hispanic Health Care International (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Women's cancer prevention and management
- Keywords
- Hispanic women, breast cancer, psychological distress, complementary and alternative medicine, non-pharmacological treatment, mindfulness, technology-based interventions, depressive symptoms, anxiety, cultural competence, quality of life, access to mental health care
- MeSH terms
- Psychological Distress, Complementary Therapies, Anxiety, Breast Neoplasms, Depression, Female, Hispanic or Latino, Humans, Mental Health, Quality of Life, Stress, Psychological, Mindfulness
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
