Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Physiotherapy (PT) can help shoulder/arm problems that are caused by treatment for breast cancer. In British Columbia (B.C.), many people with breast cancer (PwBC) find it difficult to see a physiotherapist. Reasons include living far away from clinics and not being able to afford PT. Without PT, PwBC can have shoulder/arm issues that last a long time. The goal of this research is to design a program to help PwBC know when they have shoulder/arm issues and how to manage these issues. Study 1: We will identify factors that PwBC think help them manage shoulder/arm issues by themselves, and factors that they find unhelpful. This will be done by having PwBC, who had surgery at a hospital in B.C., do surveys and interviews at 1, 6, and 12 months after their surgery. We will also interview hospital physiotherapists to see what they think are helpful/unhelpful factors for PwBC to manage shoulder/arm issues by themselves. Study 2: We will design a patient education program with PwBC and other healthcare professionals who work with PwBC to help PwBC manage shoulder/arm issues by themselves. We will then test this patient education program with PwBC who have had surgery for breast cancer to ensure it meets their needs. After that, we will do group interviews with the PwBC who took part in the program to understand their overall experience and any suggestions they have for how we can improve the program. This research can result in a program help PwBC in B.C. know when they have shoulder/arm issues, and how to manage these issues themselves. This program can help make sure PwBC get the right PT treatment at the right time. This can improve their overall health and wellbeing by addressing shoulder/arm problems due to treatment for breast cancer.