SISTAAH Talk

1. Community Organization

The goal of SISTAAH Talk is to provide a forum for African American women to communicate about and make sense of their breast cancer experience.

Description

After her breast cancer diagnosis in 1994, Dr. Selina A. Smith was prompted by the leadership of University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center to initiate a support group aimed at mitigating traumatic events (i.e., breast cancer-related concerns, self-reported physical well-being, isolation, loneliness, distress, depression, anxiety, etc.) for African-American breast cancer survivors. The goal of Survivors Involving Supporters Taking Action to Advance Health (SISTAAH) Talk is to provide a forum for African American women to communicate about and make sense of their breast cancer experience in order to achieve improved physical and mental health outcomes. Unlike traditional support groups, survivors in SISTAAH Talk partner with self-selected supporters to promote social support as an approach to coping with their diagnosis. For the past 15 years, Mary Whitehead has led the support group, expanding it to include women from across Miami-Dade and Broward counties, reaching an average of 20 women each month through education, outreach and research. Education Eight (8) SISTAAH Talk members were chosen to attend the African American Women Breast Cancer Summit hosted by ACS in October 1999 and were trained and certified as Triple Touch Breast Self-Exam (BSE) instructors. In 2000, SISTAAH Talk received funding from Susan G. Komen for the Cure to launch the Touch 2000 Campaign, exceeding the goal of educating 2000 women on BSE and good breast health practices. Outreach In 1998, SISTAAH Talk participated in ACS’ March on Capitol Hill lobbying South Florida legislators to support breast and cervical cancer screening for the underserved. Well known in the community for its annual Pretty Hat Tea, SISTAAH Talk has been extremely successful in reaching women in South Florida’s culturally diverse communities through innovative approaches. Since its inception, the support group has reached more than 2000 breast cancer survivor/supporter dyads. Research The inaugural cohort of SISTAAH Talk members (1996) participated in a Department of Defense-funded study, Multigenerational Breast Cancer Risk in African American Women. In 2013, SISTAAH Talk breast cancer survivors participated in focus group discussion and completed assessments for the National Institute of Minority Health & Health Disparities-funded pilot study, Assessing Lifestyle Modification Needs & Experiences of African American Women, Results from both studies are presented in section E.3.

Company Rating

11 FB users likes SISTAAH Talk, set it to 17 position in Likes Rating for Miami, Florida in Community Organization category

Summary

SISTAAH Talk is Miami based place and this enity listed in Community Organization category.