Yesterday, I got to do two of the favorite parts of my job. 1) Get out of the office and take a road trip to make progress on one of my research projects and 2) See one of our talented NAU OTD students (Samantha Sasse, Class of 2021) participate for the first time hands on in research! The project we were working on is our Partnership for Native American Cancer Prevention funded grant focused on developing breast and cervical cancer screening educational resources for Native American women with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD). As part of the project, we have partnered with Hopi Cancer Support Services.
Hopi Cancer Support Services Logo
Our road trip took us out to the Hopi Cancer Support Services offices in Kykotsmovi Village, which is located on the Third Mesa of the Hopi Tribe’s Reservation. They offer health education regarding cancer screenings, provide patient navigator services, and offer supports for receiving cancer screening and treatment including travel assistance and funding for families. They are funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. However, they are able to provide additional supports to families like travel assistance funding to get cancer treatments through their fundraising. So for those of you who are local and interested, please consider supporting/attending their Climb the Mesa event on September 29, 2019. I will be there and hope you can make it too!
It was an eventful day for our project as we were able to complete nine individual interviews with providers of social and health services for women living on the Hopi Reservation. Given the diversity of their roles, they gave us insights into key cultural considerations and how those can be incorporated into the cancer screening educational resources for women with disabilities. They also provided several recommendations on the content and delivery of the educational program.
This was Samantha’s first time participating in data collection on a research project. She completed five of the interviews and loved the process! One of the great perks of my job is the chance to mentor students in research. As we drove back, we reflected on the day. Samantha noted how beneficial it was to do the individual interviews with open-ended questions as she heard so many different ideas that she probably wouldn’t have heard from a paper survey. She just kept saying what a amazing experience it was and that she was so glad she took the time during her well-deserved break between semesters to take the road trip.
There are many days when I just have to sit in front of my computer writing and emailing. It can get tedious. Yesterday was one of those days that I really needed to recharge my batteries and to remind me how lucky I am to be a researcher and teacher.