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Cancer Community Education in Somali Refugees in Nebraska

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Abstract

Nebraska has one of the highest numbers of refugees per capita in the U.S. A high number of Somalis have resettled in Nebraska due to job opportunities and the low cost of living. In this paper, we report the process and the results of a cervical and breast cancer education program for Somali women conducted through a collaboration among public health, academia, and community entities. The curriculum was built to be suitable for the literacy level and cultural values of this community. Topics include female reproductive anatomy; breast and cervical cancer knowledge and screening; hepatitis C and liver cancer; and preparing for a health screening visit. Two community members trained as lay health workers conducted a pilot and an actual education session. The 2-day education program was attended by 52 women. Qualitative data showed the intervention to be promising for this and other African refugee populations.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the members of the Omaha Sudanese community, the steering committee members, and other partners who helped with the project.

Funding

This project was supported by funds provided by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, Women’s and Men’s Health Programs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA

    Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway & Nada Alnaji

  2. Department of Health Promotion, Social & Behavioral Health, College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA

    Brandon Grimm

  3. Every Woman Matters, Office of Women’s and Men’s Health, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Lincoln, NE, USA

    Melissa Leypoldt

Authors
  1. Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway
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  2. Nada Alnaji
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  3. Brandon Grimm
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  4. Melissa Leypoldt
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shinobu Watanabe-Galloway.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Watanabe-Galloway, S., Alnaji, N., Grimm, B. et al. Cancer Community Education in Somali Refugees in Nebraska. J Community Health 43, 929–936 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-018-0507-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-018-0507-z

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