How long have you been a member of AACE?
One year
What is your current position and where do you work?
Research Physician, Public Health Research Institute of India, Mysuru, India
How long have you been doing research in the field of cancer education?
I have been teaching cervcial cancer screening for the past decadein Guatemala and India. However for the past 2 yrs, in my current role at Public Health Research Institute of India, we are looking at implementation bottlenecks and improving diagnostics in cervical cancer screening. This informs local, state and national policymakers and supports their models of care.
How did your interest in the field of cancer education begin?
Being in the field trying to improve cervical cancer rates helped me realize that clinical capacity was not enough. The beneficiaries need to understand their susceptibility, the severity of the disease, and the benefits of health behavior change. We needed to understand barriers/facilitators and multiple levels to address them effectively. Only when all these bottlenecks are addressed will the community be willing, vested participants in improving their health. Hence, the interest in cancer education.
Describe some of your research as it relates to cancer education?
Currently I am working on two areas in cervical cancer
1. To improve diagnostics for screening and triaging those women who screen positive
2. Implementation Research to decrease multiple systemic bottlenecks in cervicla cancer care. This is quite broad and emcompasses cancer education, changing cultural norms and health behaviors, improving community provider capacity in multiple sectors( CHWs, public health, pediatrics, gynecology and pathology) and improving survivorship and the narrative around reproductive cancers.
What motivates you to continue to do research in cancer education?
There are two parts to my motivation. First the part that has to do with the heart. A woman dies every 8 minutes from cervical cancer in India. Given that this is a 99% preventable cancer makes these lost lives needless. Two thirds of the women that die in India leave behind broken families and children. Its hard to walk away from that.
The second part has to do with the logical feasibility. There are so many solutions within reach currently that can have a meaningful impact on cervical cancer rates. From diagnostics, to triaging care, to improving knowledge and awareness, all the way to improving survivorships. All of these areas of work are conducive to increasing scope and scale.
Do you have any advice for individuals interested in pursuing a career in cancer education?
I think it is important to fill knowledge gaps in both bench/clinical research and implementation research. One without the other will leave us ineffective at making meaningful progress.