An Investigation of Somali Women’s Beliefs, Practices, and Attitudes about Health, Health Promoting Behaviours and Cancer Prevention

Authors

  • S. A. Francis Division of Health Behavior and Health Promotion, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University;
  • F. M. Griffith Assistant Professor of Sociology/Anthropology Fareeda McClinton Griffith joined the faculty in 2009. She received her B.A. in Sociology with summa cum laude honors from Paine College. She received a M.A. in Demography and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. Her interests include Sociology of Education; Demographic Trends in South Africa (Fertility and Residential Segregation); Racial Inequality in the United States and South Africa; School Attainment; Comparative Studies; Sociology of Race and Ethnicity; Quantitative Methodology.
  • K. A. Leser Graduate Student The Ohio State University College of Public Health Division of Health Behavior and Health Promotion

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/hcs.2014.119

Keywords:

United States, Somali women, women’s health, and cancer prevention

Abstract

This pilot study examined Somali women's perception of health/access to care, examined their knowledge and attitudes about cancer prevention, and discussed strategies to improve service provision and education.

Using a multidisciplinary approach, twelve face-to-face interviews were conducted with Somali women ages 18 and older, residing in a mid-western city. Open coding was used to categorize and reflect the interview statements and to identify reoccurring themes.

Somali women are concerned about a variety of health issues and cited the role of culture and religion in developing prevention strategies.   Participants emphasized the use of religious leaders, health care advocates, oral traditions, and translators in providing culturally appropriate health care services.

Religion and culture play a prominent role in the Somali community and impact beliefs about health and wellness.  Health practitioners need to work closely with individuals and community leaders to tailor services that are culturally appropriate and accessible.

 

 

 

 

Author Biographies

S. A. Francis, Division of Health Behavior and Health Promotion, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University;

Dr. Francis has over thirteen years of experience working in the public health field.  Dr. Francis has substantial experience developing and leading original research activities both through academic and private venues and has secured both extramural and intramural grants and contracts via the National Institute of Health (NIH), academic, and private organizations. In addition to her domestic public health experience, Dr. Francis also has extensive global health experience having conducted research in Guyana, South America, Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa, and Harare, Zimbabwe.  Dr. Francis is currently a co-investigator on a project based in Harare, Zimbabwe that seeks 1) to assess the psycho-social and environmental factors associated with engaging in abrasive vaginal practices and 2) adapt and pilot test an intervention that seeks to reduce and/or cease abrasive vaginal practices.  She has written extensively on global health, chronic disease and HIV prevention, health disparities, and maternal and child health.

F. M. Griffith, Assistant Professor of Sociology/Anthropology Fareeda McClinton Griffith joined the faculty in 2009. She received her B.A. in Sociology with summa cum laude honors from Paine College. She received a M.A. in Demography and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. Her interests include Sociology of Education; Demographic Trends in South Africa (Fertility and Residential Segregation); Racial Inequality in the United States and South Africa; School Attainment; Comparative Studies; Sociology of Race and Ethnicity; Quantitative Methodology.

“My research interests are driven by the desire to understand society from a transnational perspective. My dissertation entitled "Race and Space in Post- Apartheid South Africa, 1996-2001" focuses on examining race, residential segregation, socioeconomic characteristics, and chronic health conditions in three distinct areas in South Africa: Pretoria, Johannesburg and Vereeniging (PJV). The three different racial compositions of each region provide three sociological lenses of understanding the impact of apartheid. I have a forthcoming article in the Southern African Journal of Demography in which, I analyze the current levels of race and residential segregation in the province of Gauteng. I utilize social capital as the theoretical framework to understand the social phenomenon from a South African perspective. The post-apartheid analysis of the most comprehensive census data sets reveals new patterns of residential segregation levels and explanations for understanding current race relations in South Africa. Using post-apartheid South African census data, I examine the level of racial residential segregation at the micro-level in the province of Gauteng using 1996 and 2001 individual and household level data.

References

Abdullah, A., Copping, J., Kessel, A., Luck, M., Bonell, C. (2009). Cervical screening: Perceptions and barriers to uptake among Somali women in Camden. Public Health 123: 680-685.

American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figures (2010). http://www.cancer.org/Research/CancerFactsFigures/CancerFactsFigures/cancer-facts-and-figures-2010.

American Cancer Society. Ohio Cancer Facts and Figures (2010). http://www.cancer.org/InYourArea/Ohio/LocalResearch/ohio-cancer-facts-figures.

Carroll, J. , Epstein, R., Fiscella, K., Volpe, E., Diaz, K., Omar, S. (2007a). Knowledge and beliefs about health promotion and preventive health care among Somali women in the United States. Health Care for Women International 28: 360-380.

Carroll, J., Epstein, R., Fiscella, K., Gipson, T., Volpe, E., Jean-Pierre, P. (2007b). Caring for Somali women: Implications for clinician-patient communication. Patient Education and Counseling 66: 337-345.

Daillard, C. (2003). HPV in the United States and Developing Nations: A Problem of Public Health or Politics? The Guttmacher Report on Public Policy. August 2003: 4-6.

David, R., Collins, J.W. (1997). Differing birth weights among infants of U. S. born blacks, African-born blacks, and U.S. born whites. New England Journal of Medicine 337 (17): 1209-14.

DeStephano, C.C., Flynn, P.M., Brost, B.C. (2010). Somali prenatal education video use in a United States obstetric clinic: a formative evaluation of acceptability. Patient Education and Counseling 81: 137-141.

Fiscella, K., Franks, P., Doescher, M.P., Saver, B.G. (2002). Disparities in health care by race, ethnicity, and language among the insured: findings from a national sample. Medical Care. 40:52-3.

Johnson, C.E., Ali, S.A., Shipp, M.P. (2009). Building community-based participatory research partnerships with a Somali refugee community. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 37(6S1): S230-S236.

Kroll J., Yusuf, A.I., Fujiwara, K. (2011). Psychoses, PTSD, and depression in Somali refugees in Minnesota. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 46 (6): 481-493.

McFarland, D.M. (2003). Cervical cancer and Pap smear screening in Botswana: knowledge and perceptions. International Nursing Review 50: 167-175.

Noor, H. (2011). Somali Community Project: Access and utilization of health care services for the Somali population living in Columbus, OH. Developed with support from the Columbus Public Health Office of Minority Health. City of Columbus, OH.

Pavlish, C., Noor, S., Brandt, J. (2010). Somali immigrant women and the American health care system: discordant beliefs, divergent expectations, and silent worries. Social Science and Medicine 71: 353-361.

Plaisted, L. (2002). Improving primary health care provision to Somalis: focus groups with Somali women. Minnesota International Health Volunteers.

Refugees international. (2006). Somalia field reports and in-depth reports. http://www.refintl.org/where-we-work/africa/somalia.

Siegel, J., Horan, S.A., Teferra, T. (2001). Health and health care status of African-born residents of metropolitan Washington D. C. Journal of Immigrant Health 3(4): 213-24.

Terrazas, A. (2009). African Immigrants in the United States. Migration Policy Institute. http://www.migrationinformation.org/usfocus/display.cfm?ID=719.

United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). (2010). Disparities. http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/DisparitiesAbout.aspx.

Venters H., Gany F. African Immigrant Health (Review). (2011). Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 13(2): 333-344.

Downloads

Published

2014-05-19

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2014): Cultural Realities To Health

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
  2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
  3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
    with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
  4. The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  5. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
  6. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
  7. The Author represents and warrants that:
    1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
    2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
    3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
    4. the Work has not previously been published;
    5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
    6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
  8. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.

Revised 7/16/2018. Revision Description: Removed outdated link.