Examining Racial-Ethnic Disparities and Pre-Death Grief Among Persons with Cancer and Their Family Caregivers

A cancer diagnosis can profoundly impact individuals and their families, particularly Hispanics/Latines, who face screening and treatment disparities, resulting in later diagnosis and fewer treatment options. These inequalities influence the entire family unit, as the person with cancer and family members may experience greater anticipated and illness-related losses, also known as pre-death grief (PDG). Further, minority stressors (i.e., acculturative stress, acculturation, and discrimination) may exacerbate PDG for the dyad due to negatively affecting their ability to cope with losses associated with cancer. However, studies have not examined PDG in both persons with cancer and family members, nor how minority stressors are related to PDG. Therefore, the proposed study assessed 1) levels of PDG in Hispanic/Latine family caregivers and persons with cancer compared to non-Hispanic white family caregivers and persons with cancer and 2) the effect of minority stressors (i.e., acculturative stress; acculturation; discrimination) on PDG among Hispanic/Latine family caregivers and persons with cancer. There were no significant differences between Hispanic/Latine and non-Hispanic white caregivers and persons with cancer on PDG scores (ps > .05). Acculturation (rs(19) = .541, p = .011, 95% CI [.129, .794]) and acculturative stress (rs(17) = .528, p = .020, 95% CI [.082, .797]) were significantly associated with PDG in the Hispanic/Latine dyads (i.e., family caregivers and persons with cancer). Yet, discrimination was not associated with PDG scores in the Hispanic/Latine dyads (ps > .05). This is the first study that has identified minority stressors as preliminary intervention targets (i.e., acculturation; acculturative stress) for PDG in Hispanic/Latine persons with cancer and their family caregivers.