St. Louis is home to more than 25,000 female refugees from around the world. Many have never had the opportunity to receive a mammogram or learn about breast health.
Since 2002, with funding from the St. Louis affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® foundation and technical support and guidance in securing the grant from the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation, Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s Daylight Project has focused on bridging cultural and language barriers to screening and breast cancer services. For example, many observant Muslim women take advantage of Daylight’s “Behind the Veil” screening each fall.
Many cultural and religious beliefs play a role in Muslim women not obtaining necessary health screenings. For this reason, the “Behind the Veil” breast health screening tries to address this community’s needs by providing transportation, an all-female staff, covering gowns, and interpreters fluent in Bosnian, Farsi, Arabic and Kurdish. The Daylight Project is administered by staff of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Center for Diversity and Cultural Competence.