BUILDING BRIDGES

PROGRAM A 3-year Cancer Prevention Research and

Institute of Texas grant

BUILDING BRIDGES TEAM

Amy Raines-Milenkov, DrPH Principal Investigator

Eva Baker, MPH Program Manager

Martha Felini, DC, MPH, PhD Evaluator

Lucy Smith, MPH Education Coordinator

Emelda Thein Lay Health Educator

Halimo Mudey Lay Health Educator

Laurette Rudasingwa Lay Health Educator

Radhika Subedi Lay Health Educator

Neneh Wurie, MPH Medical Case Manager

Mercy Okaalet Graduate Research Assistant

Iram Qureshi Graduate Research Assistant

BUILDING BRIDGES REFUGEE FOCUS

Refugees, as per U.S. Citizenship and Immigration

Services, are persons living outside their country of

origin who are forced to leave their homes due to fear of

persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, or

membership in a particular social/political group.

Approximately 70,000 refugees are resettled in the USA

each year.

GOAL AND TARGET NUMBERS

Outreach to 1000 Women

Education for 300 Women

Education for 300

Household Contacts

Screenings for 200 Women

Outreach to 1000 Women

Education for 300 Women

Education for 300

Household Contacts

Screenings for 200 Women

Outreach to 1000 Women

Education for 300 Women

Education for 300 Household

Contacts

Screenings for 200 Women

GOAL

The overall goal of this three year Cancer

Prevention Research Institute of Texas

(CPRIT) funded service prevention project

is to expand the net of breast, cervical,

and liver cancer prevention efforts,

activities, and clinical services to include

refugee women – an underserved

population in Texas

COMMUNITY ADVISORS

Bhutanese:

Narayan Subedi

Khara Bhandari

Prakash Koirala

Dal Bir Poudel

Durga Budhathoki

Central African:

Justin Nsenga

Jean Claude Nzambonimpa

Lambert Buhigiro

Bosco Muyango

Karen:

Ebenezer Ku

Htee Moo Shee

Somali:

Asli Parker

Nafisa Mohammed

Ibrahim Mudey

Illmiya Maalin

Deqo Hassan

BUILDING BRIDGES MODEL

Refugee Woman

Lay Health Educators

Midwife Model of

Care

Medical Case Management

Community Collaboration

Health Provider

Education

Community Advisory

Board

Radhika Subedi

Bhutanese

Halimo Mudey

Somali

Laurette Rudasingwa

Central African

Emelda Thein

Karen

Lay Health

Educators

SERVICES

Individual and group education

Healthy Living

Breast Health

Liver Health/Hepatitis B

Cervical Health/HPV

Clinical Services offered at UNT Health

Well-woman exam: PAP Exam, Clinical Breast

Exam, Hepatitis B screening

Mammogram Referrals and Follow-Up

HPV Vaccination

SERVICES

Navigation services to

Hepatitis B vaccination

Perinatal Hepatitis B Services

Medical Case Management

Medical Case Management-Catholic Charities

Abnormal results

Medical care for chronic Hepatitis B

Cancer diagnosis

WHY THESE CANCERS?

Estimated age-standardized rates of Breast/Cervical Cancer Deaths (World) per 100,000 Source: GLOBOCAN 2012 (IARC) , Section of Cancer Information (9/5/2014)

HEPATITIS B

EDUCATION BARRIERS

Karen

“Cancer can spread from person to person,

so we usually avoid people who have it.”

“Cancer cannot be treated.”

EDUCATION BARRIERS

Central Africa

“Only white people get cancer”

“Many women from my country have had abuse and rape from doctors during medical check ups. Sometimes, even though the doctor rapes women in his

clinic, the doctor is the only one in the region so they are not

able to do anything about it.”

EDUCATION BARRIERS

Bhutanese

“Mammograms are painful. They stuck a

needle in my chest and pulled out all my

blood.”

“In our community, many people have

diabetes. It is common for us to share needles

and reuse them.”

“If you fall and injure yourself then it may

cause cancer.”

EDUCATION BARRIERS

“Good Muslims don’t get cancer”

“God is good, so we don’t need to be tested for cancer.”

“Sometimes when someone has Hepatitis B, the traditional

healers can use a metal stick that has been heated in fire to

press three dots on the stomach to cure it.”

Health in Islam:

The prophet (pbuh) was once was asked “O Allah’s

messenger should we seek medical treatment for our

illnesses? He replied ‘yes, you should seek medical

treatment, because has not let no disease exist without

providing for its cure and that seeking treatments is

part of decree”.

Somali

BUILDING BRIDGES