Chapter Name: Metro Detroit Oncology Nursing Society
Chapter Size (Number of Members): 186
Chapter Contact: Name: Susan Wozniak, RN MS OCN
Project Title: Arab-American Culture Focus Meeting - Nurse to Nurse Reception
Project Goal/Target Audience:
The immediate goals of the project are: 1) define educational needs of oncology nurses as related to the Arab-American population, unique to Metropolitan Detroit, and 2) provide a collaborative opportunity for ONS chapter members and local members of the Arab-American Nurses Association. Target audience: ONS chapter members, local Arab-American Nurse Association members and select community stakeholders
Project Overview: (Limit to 250 words and include computer generated word count at end)
Cultural differences affect not only disease incidence and prevalence but also have impact on diagnosis, screening and treatment outcomes. Awareness and respect for cultural differences improve those same outcomes.
In the Metropolitan Detroit, this is particularly true in respect to unmet healthcare needs of the Arab-American community. While the latest Zogby polls rank Michigan's Arab-American population as second largest in the US, after California, Michigan's Arab-American community in Southeast Michigan still has the greatest local concentration in the United States.
An informational/educational exchange meeting of the targeted individuals for the purposes of identifying areas of need would provide the opportunity to increase awareness of cultural differences that foster cancer prevention and screening deficits in our community and cancer treatment care deficits in our local medical institutions. Long-term goals and opportunities fostered by this relationship building and initial educational focus activity would be to 1) expose the, non-member, Arab American nurses to the ONS chapter for membership recruitment and 2) develop a network for future collaborative health-care oriented community education endeavors.
Grant funding would permit financing for an informal dinner and CE event planned for May, 2009. (word count 186)
Expected Outcomes:
Improved healthcare status of Arab American community members as a result of ONS chapter member’s heightened awareness of cultural differences that exist today and negatively impact healthcare education and treatment of Arab-American individuals in this metropolitan area.
Timeline: May, 2009, ONS chapter membership meeting.
Budget: Offset anticipated program expenses, such as:
1. Marketing needs (Invitations to Arab-American Nurse Association members. ONS chapter members, community stakeholders)
2. Hospitality/Dinner accommodations
3. CE application and presentation needs
4. Development of Intercultural database for further collaborative activities