From the College of Nursing 2004-2005 Annual Report
Culturally Relevant Cancer Information Program Gains Steam
Sandra Underwood
Professor Sandra Underwood, RN, PhD, FAAN, has a mission: to increase breast cancer survival rates among African American women. Underwood, one of the nation’s foremost oncology nurse researchers, also has a plan: to work with key African American nurse educators nationwide to deliver culturally appropriate and sensitive workshops in their regions of the country.
“While the five-year relative survival rates from breast cancer in African American women have increased in recent decades, they continue to lag far behind those of other racial/ethnic groups,” says Underwood, an American Cancer Society Oncology Nursing Professor. “These women are not getting the message that early breast cancer screenings are key.”
To that end, Underwood created “Celebrating, Embracing and Promoting Breast Health,” a nurse-facilitated program tailored to the health care needs of African American women over 40 years old. The program sprang from her belief that health care information needs to be given to ethnic and minority populations by individuals from similar backgrounds. “The success of the program hinges on the ability of health educators to deliver the information in a culturally relevant manner in places where they work, worship and socialize,” Underwood says.
Since the program began in 2002, more than 30 nurses from Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and the U.S. Virgin Islands have collaborated to present the program in their communities. Audiences have included: housekeeper groups; custodial and dietary staff within hospitals and universities; evening and night shift workers in nursing homes and long-term care facilities; childcare attendants in pre-schools and day cares; never-employed women in job training; and church groups.
Underwood’s commitment to the health of minority, economically disadvantaged and medically underserved populations has garnered her significant national recognition. She currently serves on the National Institute of Nursing Research National Advisory Council and the National Cancer Advisory Board. Her numerous awards include the Susan G. Komen Excellence in Breast Cancer Education Award, American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Awareness Award, and Nurse Researcher of the Year, from the National Black Nurses Association.
URL: http://www.uwm.edu/News/Features/06.06/SON_AR_Cancer_Culture.html
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