DESI DIARY

BETTER WOMEN HELPS SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN ACHIEVE HEALTH GOALS

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Shebina Amlani, senior specialist at the Canadian Cancer Society, believes in the power of sisterhood, “the bond that connects women through shared conditions and experiences, enabling women to thrive by lifting each other up”.

After learning about Better Women, she knew right away that the program would have an individual and collective impact.

Better Women is a health promotion program where volunteer peer health coaches support women to achieve health and cancer screening goals. The program is being launched at three primary care sites in Ontario, including in Peel Region. The Peel Region program is unique in that it connects South Asian volunteer peer health coaches, aged 40-65, with other South Asian women within the same age group. Through personalized peer health coaching, the program supports women to reduce their risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes by helping them reach personalized health and cancer screening goals.

Why is this important?

“South Asian women have higher rates of chronic disease and this program is needed as it is the first tailored peer health coaching program in Canada for South Asian women,” note Amlani. “As South Asian women, we have so many things on our plate, juggling expectations as employees, mothers, daughters, community members, and partners. It is easy for us not to prioritize self-care or put our own health first.”

Better Women encourages women to take the time to improve their health behaviours related to physical activity, diet, smoking, alcohol intake, and the completion of overdue cancer screening all while receiving one-on-one support from someone who shares similar experiences. For Amlani, the program brings together a community of people all on the same journey. “There is power in a pack and when women thrive, everyone thrives.”

While she is impressed by the personalized approach of Better Women, what stood out the most for her was the requirement for every volunteer peer health coach to receive special training. “For women who choose to become a volunteer peer health coach, the personal development is incomparable,” Amlani stresses.

Even more important than personal development is the ability to empower communities to take ownership of their health. She strongly feels that “it’s very gratifying to gain knowledge in a specialized area and apply that expertise to help women achieve their personal goals and see that the key to changing their life is in their own hands”.

Shebina Amlani is a senior specialist at the Canadian Cancer Society.

Amlani has words of encouragement for South Asian women who want to volunteer. “By becoming a peer health coach, you are not only making a difference in your life but the life of another woman. We are working together towards better health, not only for ourselves, but for our communities.”

The program is now accepting applications from passionate women who want to volunteer their time as a peer health coach. To learn more about Better Women and to apply for this position, visit www.cancer.ca/BETTERWomen.

Better Women is a partnership between the Canadian Cancer Society and Women’s College Hospital made possible through joint funding from the Canadian Cancer Society, the Peter Gilgan Foundation, the Women’s College Hospital Foundation, and the Public Health Agency of Canada.