Understanding and Enhancing the Care Experiences of Black Women Along the Breast Cancer Journey
Study Summary
This research study aims to broaden our understanding in the Canadian context of how Black women experience breast cancer, particularly around diagnosis and treatment, to improve their care. Through qualitative interviews, the goal is to explore the lived experiences of Black women who have or are currently undergoing breast cancer care to identify challenges, barriers, inequities, or variations in care to elucidate the impact that sociocultural factors and the health care environment have on breast cancer care for Black women. This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through Mount Sinai Hospital (REB number: 21-0136-E).
Criteria
We're looking for adults (18+) who self-identify as Women of Black, Caribbean, or African ancestry and are or previously have been diagnosed with breast cancer. We strive to achieve diversity among participants, with representation in immigration background and status, age, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, socioeconomic status and residential location.
Participants will be asked to participate in:
- 1-2 online one-on-one interviews with a researcher, lasting about 1 hour.
- A short demographic survey.
*Participants will receive monetary compensation for their time.
A trusted caregiver may be present for the interview if preferred by the participant. Translation services can also be provided upon request for your preferred language.
We are partnering with the Olive Branch of Hope (OBOH). The OBOH is a community-based breast cancer support service whose mandate is to ensure that Black women have access to the information and services they need around their breast cancer diagnosis.
For more information on our study and the full study team, please contact:
Miah Zammit
Project Coordinator, Cancer Experience Program and GIPPEC
[email protected]
437-855-6513
Our funders and partners include, Mount Sinai Hospital, The Olive Branch of Hope, University Health Network, Women’s College Hospital, Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Institute of Health Research, Federation of Medical Women of Canada, and CanIMPACT.
Our Study Team
Dr. Andrea Covelli, MD, PhD, FRCSC Surgical Oncologist – Health Equity Research, Mount Sinai Hospital & Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto Department of Surgery, Division of General Surgery (Principal Investigator)
Dr. Aisha Lofters, MD, PhD, CCFP Primary Care Physician – Health Equity Research, Peter Gilgan Centre for Women’s Cancers, Women’s College Hospital, University of Toronto Department of Family & Community Medicine (Co-Investigator)
Dr. Juliet Daniel, PhD, Professor & Associate Dean of Research & External Relations, Faculty of Science (Biology), McMaster University (Co-Investigator)
Dr. Gayathri Naganathan, MD, MSc University of Toronto – Department of Surgery, Division of General Surgery, Resident (Co-Investigator)
Leila Springer, Founder & Executive Director of The Olive Branch of Hope (Community Partner)
Ielaf Khalil, Research Coordinator, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health (Interviewer)
