Latina breast cancer survivors informational needs: information partners

The ability to access and understand health information is becoming more critical to managing one's own health and illness. Informatics tools are increasingly the central resources for responding to these needs. But just as information is culturally bound, so are the tools used to access it; both are bounded by the contexts in which they are situated. Latinas face more barriers in accessing needed information due to cultural, linguistic and health access inequities in the US. Although breast cancer rates for Latinas are lower than for non-Latina white women, they are more likely to have a more advanced stage at diagnosis and poorer quality of survivorship. Few studies have explored Latina breast cancer survivors' information needs & strategies. This community-based study focused on Mexican American women with breast cancer and explored their health information experiences, needs, and strategies; it examined their perceptions of how their relationships with providers influenced how information was accessed and utilized. Managing information was not an individual responsibility for any of these women. All of these women had access and used the Internet either directly or through their support networks. All emphasized the importance of having a select support network of people (information partners) for receiving, searching, and interpreting all health information about their illness. If information partners are strategies preferred by Latinas, then we must refocus our assessment of e-health literacy competencies on networks rather than individuals.