A brand new study printed within the Journal of Cancer Survivorship sheds gentle on the worth of a novel peer psychosocial assist for breast cancer sufferers in Adama, Ethiopia.
In collaboration with Assistant Professor Breanne Lott of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the staff supported the work of Assistant Professor Biniyam Tefera Deressa at Adama Hospital Medical College (AHMC), where Dr. Tefera Deressa has launched Ethiopia’s first breast cancer psychosocial assist group. The paper was co-authored by CUNY SPH doctoral candidate Amanda Pierz and MPH alumni Dr. Hyowoun Jyung, Bonnibel Rosario, and Nichole Andoh-B-Baidoo.
As a part of their MPH Community Health and Social Sciences fieldwork, Jyung, Rosario, and Andoh-B-Baidoo carried out a qualitative evaluation of six focus group discussions with 44 breast cancer sufferers and survivors in Adama. The analysis aimed to raised perceive sufferers’ experiences with the pilot program and its potential for broader software.
“While psychosocial assist packages for breast cancer sufferers are comparatively frequent in high-income nations, cancer facilities in lots of Sub-Saharan African settings usually lack psycho-oncology specialists and medical assets and infrastructure to supply these important psychological well being companies,” mentioned Pierz. “Dr. Biniyam’s initiative gives a promising, cost-effective model that could possibly be tailored throughout comparable resource-limited contexts.”
The AHMC peer assist group is uniquely structured round a standard Ethiopian espresso ceremony. Each month-to-month session is co-led by a breast cancer survivor, a feminine facilitator, and a neighborhood oncologist, making a culturally resonant and community-based model of care.
The study contributes to a rising physique of analysis on cancer survivorship and psychological well being in Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings spotlight how regionally tailored, peer-led interventions can fill crucial gaps in psycho-oncological care.
More data:
Biniyam Tefera Deressa et al, A qualitative study on the psycho-oncological experiences of girls navigating breast cancer prognosis, therapy, and survivorship in Ethiopia, Journal of Cancer Survivorship (2025). DOI: 10.1007/s11764-024-01742-9
Citation:
Navigating breast cancer prognosis, therapy, and survivorship in Ethiopia ( 16)
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