Patients' views on HCC biospecimen research: Understanding the role of race and culture through interviews.

BACKGROUND: HCC is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality; there are significant racial and ethnic disparities in HCC risk and survival. Our knowledge regarding whether molecular and genetic factors contribute to these observed differences is limited by scarcity of biospecimens, which are especially scarce in minority populations. Because biospecimens are not needed for HCC diagnosis or treatment, patients are less likely to provide biospecimens solely for research purposes. METHODS: We identified participants, n = 32, from an ongoing prospective cohort study. Using semi-structured interviews, we examined perceptions of providing biospecimens for research to identify factors that motivate and hinder their willingness to donate. RESULTS: Directed content analysis resulted in 6 themes, including reported experiences of (1) support or suspicion in donating biospecimens; (2) desire to help others or themselves; (3) inconvenience, discomfort, and concerns about privacy or recovery as hindrances to donating; (4) recommendations for health care researchers; (5) preferences for biospecimen donation; and (6) the influence of race, culture, and religion in donating biospecimens. Patients reported being least willing to donate specimens that required more invasive procedures and recovery, namely, liver tissue. Patients reported being more likely to donate if the data collection was convenient, resulted from discarded tissue, or was instituted as part of a broad opt-in consent approach, with assurances as to confidentiality and prosocial benefit. Participants expressed mixed views about whether race and culture influence people's willingness to donate biospecimens. CONCLUSIONS: Specific recommendations to increase the likelihood of donation include providing patients with educational materials addressing the benefits of donation and the concerns about confidentiality and data usage, making donation convenient, and adopting a broad consent bio-banking policy.

Impact of COVID-19 discrimination fear on psychological distress among East Asian college students: The moderating role of emotion regulation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to heightened discrimination and xenophobia against Asian Americans in the United States. Mainstream media have reported that East Asian individuals are increasingly fearful of becoming victims of anti-Asian discrimination. However, few studies have examined the fear of experiencing discrimination, especially among youths and young adults. This study examined the extent to which East Asian first-year college students in the United States have experienced the fear of anti-Asian discrimination during the pandemic, its impact on anxiety and depressive symptoms, and whether emotion regulation strategies moderated the relationship between the fear of discrimination and psychological distress. Participants completed a cross-sectional online survey (n = 139; Mage = 17.90; SD = 0.62; 64% female) and reported high levels of fears, with 40.3% and 29.5% of the participants endorsing "quite a bit" or "extremely" on worries about being harassed or not feeling physically safe due to COVID-19, respectively. Female students endorsed higher levels of fear than male students. We found that cognitive reappraisal moderated the relations between the fear of discrimination and depressive symptoms, such that higher levels of cognitive reappraisal buffered the detrimental effects of this fear on depressive symptoms. Similarly, emotion suppression moderated the relations between the fear of discrimination and distress, such that higher levels of emotion suppression were associated with lower levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms. These results highlight the need for university administrators and faculty to address East Asian first-year college students' high levels of fears related to experiencing anti-Asian discrimination during the pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).