The resilience of indigenous women of the U.S. who experience cancer: transcending adversity

ABSTRACT

Almost no research specifically explores resilience among Indigenous women of the U.S. who experience cancer. A qualitative descriptive study included a sample of 43 Indigenous women from the Northern Plains region of the U.S. Almost 90% (88%, n = 37) of participants indicated personal growth in response to having cancer, indicating they valued relationships (n = 3), had a stronger faith (n = 5), were grateful and living in moment (n = 21), became more healthy (n = 5), and helped others (n = 6) in response to their cancer experience. Results indicate that factors that promote and facilitate resilience are critical for culturally responsive practice with Indigenous women.

KEYWORDS:

• Indigenous
• American Indian or Native American
• cancer
• resilience
• quality of life
• qualitative research

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [K12HD043451]; National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities [U54MD008164]; Supported in part by U54 GM104940 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, which funds the Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science Center [L60 MD009772].