Selma Sosic, one of our many student summer researchers, says that her favorite part about research here at Roanoke is that research advisors trust their advisees to do field research by themselves. She truly enjoys how much the research advisors value the input and thought processes the student researchers bring to the table. Selma experienced this firsthand when she traveled to Palau with Dr. Chad Morris and one of her partners in the project, Hailey. Selma and Hailey gathered qualitative data via focus groups from several Palauan women over the span of the three weeks they spent there. After each focus group session, they collaborated to pull key themes and ideas from the data they gathered. Selma was then able to write a preliminary report that addressed key motivators, barriers, and key sources of information on breast cancer screening on the island. Her report will be given to the Palauan Ministry of Health and the Non-Communicable Disease Unit to provide them with preliminary ideas regarding screening rates on the island. Once all of the interviews have been transcribed, a final report will be completed and sent to Palau in June of 2023.
This is amazing work and a very interesting project! We can’t wait to learn more!