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Working with Muslim women to improve cancer screening uptake
In this episode, host and Fuse public partner, Sadia Mir, speaks with Fuse researchers Floor Christie-de Jong and Rawand Jarrar about their work on improving Muslim women's cancer screening uptake.
The IMCAN (Improving Muslim women's CANcer screening uptake) study, funded by Cancer Research UK, focuses on improving participation in breast, cervical and bowel screening among Muslim women in the UK.
Together, they talk about how the research came about and why it felt especially important to work with Muslim women. Floor and Rawand share some of their own experiences and lessons learned along the way, share advice on collaborating with the Muslim community, and touch on what’s next for the research.
Floor and Rawand also answer the big question: "If you had one message for our listeners to take away, what would it be?"
Listen now on Apple, Spotify and Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcast
About the guests
Dr Floor Christie-de Jong is Associate Professor in Public Health in the School of Medicine at the University of Sunderland. She is also Associate Director for Fuse. Her research focuses on reducing health inequalities, particularly in cancer screening among ethnic minority groups, using community-centred, participatory and asset-based approaches.
Dr Rawand Jarrar is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the School of Medicine at the University of Sunderland. Her research includes the use of qualitative and quantitative methods to explore how decisions are made in healthcare, including prescribing decisions and uptake of screening services.
About the host
Sadia Mir is a health and racial equity consultant, and is a Fuse public partner. Sadia champions good health for all, particularly focused on young person's mental health and women's health. She's also an advocate for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) awareness and campaigns for better rights at work for young women with the Young Women's Trust.
Resources and further information
Contact for more information, or a copy of the transcript prepared by Academic Audio Transcription: info@fuse.ac.uk
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With special thanks to the Fuse podcast group Emma Adams, Victoria Bartle, David Black, Cheryl Blake, Mandy Cheetham, Lesley Haley, Fiona Ling, Cassey Muir, John O’Shea, Laura Ritson, Viola Rook, Cheryl Wiscombe; David Winter and Ben Smith (editing); Shaun O'Boyle (training); and Academic Audio Transcription for transcribing content. Produced by Ella Anderson and Mark Welford.
Music: Tuesday (Glitch Soft Hip-hop) by amaksi.
Image: from the Beacon4Health website
Last modified: Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:14:34 BST
