Understanding Challenges of Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Among Muslim Women
The Muslim faith is one of the fastest growing religious groups in the United States and studies show that Muslim women may have lower percentages of breast and cervical cancer screening compared to all women. CDC funded the New York University School of Medicine, a Prevention Research Center, to conduct the MARHABA (Muslim Americans Reaching for Health and Building Alliances) study to: 1) understand the barriers and facilitators of breast and cervical cancer screening among Muslim women in New York City, and 2) use this information to develop and implement an intervention to increase knowledge and screening. Key informants in the community such as religious leaders and social service agencies, reported language, insurance, immigration status, and lack of knowledge about screening as specific structural and cultural barriers. Muslim women reported modesty, stigma, and gender of the physician as barriers to screening. Strategies to help increase screening included focusing on norms associated with the Islam religion, such as the importance of personal health, and engaging mosques and religious leaders to disseminate health campaign materials during faith-based settings.
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