PICOT: African-American Women with Breast Cancer

PICOT: African-American Women with Breast Cancer
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COURSE XXX: Title of Course
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Month XX, 202X
PICOT: African-American Women with Breast Cancer

Cancer is among the most potent and dreaded chronic modern conditions in human society. This is true because while there are new methods and approaches to treating the condition, such as immunotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy, it remains largely a terminal illness with a mortality rate of 159 per 100,000 people (NCI, 2020). Therefore, it is a kind of condition that, when diagnosed, can cause anxiety, stress, and depression not only for the patient but also for the family. According to Niedzwiedz et al. (2019), a cancer diagnosis substantially impacts patients' mental health outcomes, including those who did not have an underlying mental health problem(s) at the time of diagnosis. Anxiety, stress, and depression impede treatment, recovery, and quality of life. Therefore, there is an increasing need for cancer treatment and management approaches that consider the mental health aspect of cancer conditions in patients. Given the emergence of patient-centered healthcare and evidence-based practice, a clinical approach that is culturally sensitive has far more promising outcomes compared to standard nursing care. Therefore, the goal of the current paper is to investigate this potential based on the PICOT Question in the next section.

Problem Statement

            Research suggests that the distribution of anxiety, stress and depression (ASD) is not equal among the American population (Watson et al., 2012). In other words, some sections of the American population face more high-risk factors and more negative mental health outcomes compared to others. For instance, in terms of gender, women are more likely to suffer from the conditions than men. Even among women, there are disparities. According to Watson, Roberts, and Saunders (2012), African American Women are more likely to experience any of the ASDs compared to their White Women counterparts. Watson and Hunter (2015) posited that the Strong Black Woman race-gender schema contributes to this problem by inhibiting members of this population from seeking mental health services. However, on a broader scale, issues such as racism (Williams, 2018) and poverty (Knifton & Inglis, 2020) shape the significant risk factors. Across both factors, and in conditions like breast cancer, women of color are the most exposed to anxiety, stress, and depression causative risk factors based on education, household income, and neighborhood of residence.

            Considering these issues and coupling them with cancer prevalence among African American women results in a population with a significant potential to suffer from ASD conditions. Cancer, therefore, either burdens the existing coping mechanism against ASD or worsens the existing mental health connection. Going by Niedzwiedz et al.'s (2019) argument that canc...