Robin Wood (CSON)

Promoted to associate professor with tenure

Ed.D., Boston University

Faculty member since 2000

Specialization: Coordinator of the CSON Learning Resource Centers, instructional design in collegiate nursing laboratories; health maintenance and cancer surveillance in vulnerable populations

Representative publication: “The effect of an educational intervention on promoting breast self-examination in older African-American and Caucasian women” (Oncology Nursing Forum, 2002)

“Women over 65 are much more likely to get breast cancer than younger women, but much less likely to get mammograms. Older black women, especially, have a higher mortality rate from breast cancer that seems to be linked to less frequent screening. They may think that if they’ve lived this long without it, they're probably not going to get it. There may be stress in the screening itself—they don’t want to look for something if they don’t have symptoms—or, to some extent, a feeling that God’s going to take care of them. Or they have other health-related or socioeconomic issues to deal with. Some years ago, I developed an instrument to measure breast self-examination proficiency for my 'Health Assessment Across the Life Span' class. I wanted to take what I had learned to the population who really needed it, so I designed video breast health kits for older women. These women definitely learn from the program how to be better at self-examination and the risks and benefits of screening, but it hasn’t been totally successful in convincing them to get a mammogram. The resistance is so strong that we're looking at how we can strengthen the message, probably through peer coaching.”