ArticleJournal of the National Medical Association2019
"They were just waiting to die": Somali Bantu and Karen Experiences with Cancer Screening Pre- and Post-Resettlement in Buffalo, NY.
Article in Journal of the National Medical Association, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Health Service Utilization of Black Immigrant Women Residing in the United States: A Systematic Review.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2025Pooled it
- Access to Healthcare Among US Adult Refugees: A Systematic Qualitative Review.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2023Pooled it
- Who is left out? A systematic review on the barriers and facilitators for screening participation reported by people in vulnerable situations with strategies for the future.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2026Review
- Barriers to Breast, Cervical, and Colorectal Cancer Screenings Faced by Refugees Resettled in the United States: A Rapid Review.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2025Review
- Experiences With Cancer Screenings Among Arabic-Speaking Refugee Women.Nursing for women's health · 2025Article
- Article
- Social Risk Screening and Response Equity: Assessment by Race, Ethnicity, and Language in Community Health Centers.American journal of preventive medicine · 2023Article
- Traditional Somali Diaspora Medical Practices in the USA: A Scoping Review.Journal of religion and health · 2023Article
- Accessing and navigating healthcare: A scoping review of the experiences of women of refugee background from Myanmar.Health & social care in the community · 2022Article
- Psychosocial Correlates of Experience and Intention to Receive Colorectal Cancer Screening: A Cross-Sectional Study Among East African Men in the U.S.The journal of primary prevention · 2021Article
- Uptake of cancer screenings among a multiethnic refugee population in North Texas, 2014-2018.PloS one · 2020Article
- Gendered effects of climate change and health inequities among forcibly displaced populations: Displaced Rohingya women foster resilience through technology.The journal of climate change and healthArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLittle is known about how pre-resettlement experiences affect refugees' uptake of cancer screenings. The objective of this study was to characterize Somali Bantu and Karen experiences with cancer and cancer screenings prior to and subsequent to resettlement in Buffalo, NY in order to inform engagement by health providers.
methodsThe study was grounded in a community-based participatory research approach, with data collection and analysis guided by the Health Belief Model and life course framework. Interviews were transcribed, independently coded by two researchers, and analyzed using an immersion-crystallization approach. We conducted 15 semi-structured interviews and six interview-focus group hybrids with Somali Bantu (n = 15) and Karen (n = 15) individuals who were predominantly female (87%).
resultsCancer awareness was more prevalent among Karen compared to Somali Bantu participants. Prior to resettlement, preventative health care, including cancer screening, and treatment were unavailable or inaccessible to participants and a low priority compared with survival and acute health threats. There, Somali Bantu treated cancer-like diseases with traditional medicine (heated objects, poultices), and Karen reported traditional medicine and even late-stage biomedical treatments were ineffective due to extent of progressed, late-stage ulcerated tumors when care was sought. A fatalistic view of cancer was intertwined with faith (Somali Bantu) and associated with untreated, late-stage cancer (Karen). Karen but not Somali Bantu reported individuals living with cancer were stigmatized pre-resettlement due to the unpleasant manifestations of untreated, ulcerated tumors. Now resettled in the U.S., participants reported obtaining cancer screenings was challenged by transportation and communication barriers and facilitated by having insurance and interpretation services. While Somali Bantu women strongly preferred a female provider for screenings, Karen women felt cancer severity outweighed cultural modesty concerns in terms of provider gender. SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings suggest the need for culturally-relevant cancer education that incorporates the life course experiences and addresses logistical barriers in linking individuals with screening, to be complemented by trauma-informed care approaches by healthcare providers.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.