Karen Meneses, PhD, RN, FAAN
A leader in rural health care within the School of Nursing is Associate Dean for Research KAREN MENESES, PhD, RN, FAAN. Co-leader of the Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, Meneses has been an oncology nurse specialist and scientist for more than 20 years, experiencing the whole spectrum of cancer care. Her research focuses on support for women with breast cancer as they transition from active treatment to post-treatment survivorship. Most recently, she has been working with rural breast cancer survivors. “We have several research teams going,” Meneses explained. “They’re all very project-specific, but the overarching focus is breast cancer. We have a team here in Birmingham and team members in Florida who are working on the Rural Breast Cancer
“We believe in a community-based, participatory research model, where you ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY, tailor the work that you do to the needs of the population, and then CONTINUE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS . . .” -Karen Meneses, PhD, RN, FAAN Survivor Intervention Project. We have another team looking at cost-effectiveness research around the breast cancer survivors study. And then we have two projects being conducted here in the state of Alabama, Reach Out to Breast Cancer Survivors in North Central Alabama and the Black Belt Project.” These interprofessional teams comprise senior scientists, nurses, clinical research staff, statisticians, health services researchers, and a health economist—experts from a wide range of disciplines. Their ultimate goal is a better quality of life for breast cancer survivors, especially those with limited access to health care and education. “The more prepared survivors are, the better their lives are going to be,” says Meneses. “Our role is strictly nursing support and education. We don’t interfere with their provider, though in some cases we help them connect with a provider. We’re here to give them the tools they need to seek and find quality care.” How best to go about that? The answer depends on each survivor community. North Central Alabama is predominately Caucasian, with a growing Latina community, while the Black Belt has a large African-American community. There’s little stigma attached to breast cancer in the North Central counties, so breast cancer survivors are open to support groups and counseling, Meneses said, but the Black Belt is a different story. “Women here don’t even tell friends and neighbors they’ve been treated for breast can8 | UAB SCHOOL OF NURSING
cer, and some delay treatment because they don’t want anyone to know they’ve been diagnosed,” Meneses explained. “Part of that comes from the fear that they’ll be a burden to their families, and part of it is the stigma of a cancer diagnosis and the fatalistic view that they’re going to die. The need for education and counseling is tremendous. And the level of patient education we’re talking about can’t happen during a 15-minute follow-up with a provider.” In her previous position at the University of Central Florida College of Nursing, Meneses received a research grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop an intervention for rural breast cancer survivors in Florida. The best delivery system for counseling these women turned out to be the telephone—no travel required, and everybody can get to one. After coming to UAB, Meneses received a lo-