Congratulations to the 2020 SWS Barbara Rosenblum Cancer Dissertation Scholarship Winner
Aisha Abimbola Adaranijo
Photo of Aisha Abimbola Adaranijo
Sociologists for Women in Society is proud to announce the recipient of the 2020 Barbara Rosenblum Cancer Dissertation Scholarship, Aisha Abimbola Adaranijo. Special thanks go to the 2020 Barbara Rosenblum Cancer Dissertation Scholarship Subcommittee: Eleanor Miller (Chair), Jean Elson, Gloria Gadsden, Melissa Day, and Ana Porroche-Escudero. This scholarship was established with a bequest from Barbara Rosenblum, an active and longstanding SWS member, who died February 14, 1988 after a long battle with breast cancer. Colleagues, friends, and family made contributions to the fund in Barbara’s memory, and fundraising efforts continue to ensure that a $2500 scholarship can be offered every year. The purpose of the scholarship is to encourage doctoral research in sociology, anthropology, psychology and related fields on women’s experience of breast cancer and other reproductive cancers and the prevention of these cancers. Another goal of the scholarship is to encourage scholars to make this type of research accessible to the public through speaking and publishing for lay audiences.
Aisha is on a mission to make the indigenous African woman’s voice heard. Trained as a Sociologist, with a Master’s Degree in Public Health (MPH), she has over 15 years of experience as a developmental worker and researcher, holding positions as programme officer, assistant programme manager, and senior programme manager. Aisha’s focus has been on the most vulnerable populations in Nigeria which include children under the age of 5, young girls, drug users, sex workers, people living with HIV and the LGTB community. Aisha’s works resonate around the formulation of policy documents, planning and implementation of interventional projects on the ethics and rights of vulnerable groups to research, reproductive health for young adults, women and LGTB communities, and the empowerment of child and family welfare and protection. Currently, a Ph.D. candidate at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, conducting a novel qualitative study of the lived experience of women with breast cancer in Nigeria, a country in West Africa. Indigenous African women studies telling their own stories especially within health research is often insufficient in Africa. Aisha is committed to raising the voices of women in all forms particularly within the research and educational communities.
Aisha’s main interests are gender and sexuality studies, culture, theory and research, reproductive health and identity development. Aisha’s and her team’s works have appeared in Developing World Bioethics (2012), Microbicide Conference, Australia (2012), Multipurpose Prevention Symposium (2011), AIDS Impact conference, USA, (2011) and UNAIDS’s Good Participatory Practice (GPP) document, UNDP Lagos Municipal Action Plan for HIV/ AIDS for Most at Risk Population. Previous studies include Society’s Perception of HIV/AIDS in Kano metropolis, (2002), Parental Roles in Sexuality Education of Adolescents (2010), Qualitative Research: An appraisal (2014).
In a review of literature from Nigeria, research usually concentrates on issues such as knowledge, attitude and practice, morbidity/mortality rates, incidence and prevalence etc., a situation that could be attributed to the dominance of such studies by biomedical researchers. The social-cultural dimensions and the subjective experiences of having breast cancer are usually not considered. Yet, the culture and subjective factors are critical in defining and evaluating treatment options, help seeking behavior as well as subsequent living with the disease.
Aisha’s study seeks to explore these factors from the perspective of a developing country. Aisha’s dissertation research examines the social context of living with breast cancer for women in Lokoja, Kogi State. With regards to the study concerning women with breast cancer at the Federal Medical Centre Lokoja, the specific objectives are: to explore the meaning of living with breast cancer (LWBC), to explore the lived experience of WLBC, to examine how socio-demographic factors affect WLBC, to explore the medical and socio-psychological consequences of LWBC, and examine the roles of health practitioners in the lived experience of WLBC.
SWS will be honoring Aisha via a Virtual Awards Presentation. Pre-registration is required. Please click here to register for the Rosenblum Award Announcement taking place on July 9, 2020 at 1:00 pm Eastern Time. If you are interested in making a gift to support the Barbara Rosenblum Cancer Dissertation Scholarship, please contact Barret Katuna, Executive Officer, at swseo.barretkatuna@outlook.com. You can also make a gift online, by clicking here.
