Sarah Yeo, Ph.D.

Forschungsübersicht

Breast and cervical cancers are highly treatable when detected early, yet many women never receive routine screenings such as mammograms and Pap tests. Refugee women from Muslim-majority countries face especially high barriers. Many come from places without preventive health care systems and are unfamiliar with cancer screening. Language barriers, cultural beliefs, modesty concerns and difficulty navigating the U.S. health care system can further limit access.

This project aims to develop a culturally and linguistically appropriate program to help refugee women in the United States learn about and access cancer screenings. Trained community health workers who share cultural and language backgrounds with participants will lead educational sessions, answer questions and help women between the ages of 45 and 65 who are not currently up to date with their breast and cervical cancer screening schedule and attend screening appointments.

Our team will conduct an evaluation of whether the program is acceptable, feasible and effective by measuring changes in knowledge, attitudes and screening completion over six months.

By addressing both cultural and practical barriers, we hope to create a scalable model that can improve early cancer detection, reduce health disparities and promote health equity among refugee and immigrant communities in the United States and beyond.

My “Why”

My interest in cancer research developed from years of working closely with refugee communities. While overseeing programs for Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon and later working with resettled refugees in the United States, I realized that their struggles continue even after resettlement. Many are invisible in the health care system and face major barriers to cancer screening and prevention. Seeing women struggle to access lifesaving care inspired me to focus my work on underserved populations who are too often overlooked.

Warum die Finanzierung wichtig ist

Support from the Prevent Cancer Foundation will allow me to develop and test a culturally and linguistically tailored cancer screening program for underserved women. This approach could lead to earlier diagnoses and better outcomes for these women. Funding is essential for generating early evidence to support larger studies and to expand this approach to other underserved communities.