According to the Census, the Arab community is defined as a “hard to count” population.  Historically, Arab American’s classification as ‘white’ has led to serious problems in the undercounting of the community. There is little data in the literature about the health needs of Arab Muslim women living in the United States. They are considered to be an understudied, underserved, and invisible population. With the growing number of Iraqi refugees in the United States, this community is specifically in need of breast health education. Islamic teachings support that women are responsible for maintaining their health.  However, there are religious and cultural practices that could impede women’s participation in breast cancer screening such as issues of modesty (SBE and CBE) with female health providers. Considering all these factors and challenges, the need to increase outreach to the Arab American community in breast health education is significant.  The purpose of the “Lilfshifa” project is to educate Arab-Muslim women over the age of 40 years about breast health, including health prevention, health screening, and access to care.

Proposed change:

The outcome measures will include pre and posttest  evaluation of their knowledge as well  as follow-up on behavior change on if they sought mammography screening.

Implementation, outcomes and evaluation:

Using Arab-Muslim trained community health workers, the authors developed an empowerment model of breast health education that was reviewed by Arab-Muslim experts for cultural appropriateness. The community health workers were trained by the nurse author experts. The objectives of the program are for breast health and screening educational to be held in small groups of women throughout the year. The Arab-Muslim women will be visited by the community health worker and the Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner. They will receive the educational program and a clinical breast exam as well as a referral for a screening mammogram. 

Implications for nursing practice:

Measureable outcomes will be assessed using a previously tested culturally appropriate tool. 

The development and implemenation of culturally appropriate educational interventions for immigrant minority women can provide increased awareness and access to healthcare.

Keywords:

Breast cancer, Low-income immigrant women, Arab Muslim women, Arab Islamic Women, Breast cancer risk assessment, Knowledge, Empowerment, Community health needs, Healthcare disparities.