ASPO Abstracts
Arab Americans' needs and suggested interventions after cancer diagnosis: perspectives of multisectoral community stakeholders
Category: Culture and Cancer
Conference Year: 2021
Abstract Body:
Background. Multilevel barriers can arise after a cancer diagnosis, especially in underserved racial/ethnic
minority patient populations, raising the need for diverse and contextually-adapted interventions. However,
limited data exists on Arab American cancer patients' needs, partly due to their racial/ethnic misclassification as
Whites. This study leveraged the perspectives of cancer survivors, caregivers, and community stakeholders (i.e.,
healthcare providers and community/faith leaders) to identify Arab American cancer patients' needs, as well as
their preferred intervention strategies to address them.
Methods. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of interviews with 18 Arab American community
stakeholders recruited through community partners in Chicago.
Results. Community stakeholders emphasized the cultural stigma of cancer within the Arab community and
associated it with concealment of diagnosis and reluctance to participate in cancer support groups among Arab
American cancer patients. Economic and language barriers in healthcare were also highlighted, and relatedly,
the limited availability of Arab American healthcare providers. A lack of targeted resources for Arab American
cancer patients was also noted and was partly attributed to the population's misclassification as White. In
response to these needs, community stakeholders suggested one-on-one peer support approaches to overcome
privacy concerns, hospital-based patient navigation to address language and economic barriers in healthcare,
active recruitment of Arab American students into medical education pipelines, and community coalitions-led
advocacy efforts to recognize Arab Americans as a distinct ethnic group at the local, state, and national levels.
Such advocacy are essential to accurately characterize patients' cancer burden and obtain funding to support
the suggested community programs and resources.
Conclusion. Our findings suggest that multilevel interventions at the patient, healthcare, and community levels
are needed to address Arab American cancer patients' needs. Given the shared barriers of Arab American
cancer patients with other health disparity populations, this study further demonstrates the need to disentangle
Arab Americans from the White racial category.
Keywords: Arab Americans, cancer treatment, stakeholder engagement, interventions