Sarah Abboud, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor
Department of Women, Children and Family Health Science
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Contact
Building & Room:
College of Nursing, Room 854
Address:
845 S. Damen Ave., MC 802, Chicago, IL 60612
Office Phone:
Email:
CV Download:
About
My research work centers on the intersections of ethnicity, sexuality, gender, health, and immigration among immigrants, ethnic minorities, sexual and gender minorities in the United States, in particular Arabs and Arab Americans, and in Lebanon. My work is informed by social justice, intersectionality, and health equity frameworks and aims at decreasing the significant health disparities faced by marginalized populations. Along with my research work, I have extensive experience in sexual health, qualitative research methods, mixed methods, and community-based participatory research approaches.
In the US, my work has concentrated on virginity and sexual initiation, communication with parents about sex and sexuality, and sexual attitudes and behaviors among young adult Arabs. I am currently working on the development of a sexual and reproductive health promotion intervention for young adult Arabs in Chicago, with a focus on intimate partner sexual violence prevention. As part of a fellowship at Yale University, I am also exploring HIV/STI risk behaviors and mental health of LGBTQ men, pre- and post-migration to the US.
In Lebanon, my work has centered on HIV/AIDS, where I investigated the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS. I am currently a board member of LebMASH (Lebanese Medical Association for Sexual Health), where we work on advancing healthcare for LGBTQ individuals, as well as sexual and reproductive health throughout the country.
I completed my BS and MS in Nursing at the American University of Beirut School of Nursing, Lebanon, and my PhD and post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, where I was a member of the Centers for Global Women’s Health and Health Equity Research. I completed a Visiting Faculty Fellowship at Yale University School of Public Health Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (2017-2019).
Selected Grants
Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, Internal Research Support Program College of Nursing, UIC, Toward the development of a community-based and youth-focused sexual violence prevention intervention for Arabs in Chicago, Principal Investigator
Research Education Institute for Diverse Scholars; Yale University, School of Public Health (NIMH Pilot R25MH087217-09), HIV/STI Risk Behaviors, Mental Health, and Immigration: The Experiences of Immigrants Pre- and Post-Migration, Principal Investigator
UIC Center for Health Equity Research (NIMHD; U54MD012523-01), Toward the development of a community-based and youth-focused sexual violence prevention intervention for Sexual and Gender Minorities (SGM) in underserved Arab Communities in Chicago., Principal Investigator
Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, UIC, Intrapartum Inequalities: Birth Experiences and Obstetric Interventions among Immigrant Women in Chicago, Co-Investigator
Selected Publications
Zayed, L., Chebli, P., Shalabi, I., Taha, N., & Abboud, S. (2020). Health assessment of the Arab American community in Southwest Chicago. Journal of Community Health. doi: 10.1007/s10900-020-00791-2. In press.
Abboud, S., ^Chebli, P., Rabelais, E. The Contested Whiteness of Arab Identity in the United States: Implications for Health Disparities Research. American Journal of Public Health. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2019.305285. In press.
Perfetti, A.R., Abboud, S., Behme, M., & Barg, F. K. Understanding wellness and barriers to healthcare among Iraqi refugee women. Health and Social Care in the Community. doi:10.1111/hsc.12810. In press.
Flores, D., Abboud, S., & Barroso, J. Hegemonic masculinity during parent-child sex communication with sexual minority male adolescents. American Journal of Sexuality Education. doi: 10.1080/15546128.2019.1626312. In press.
Naal, H., Abboud, S., Harfoush, O., & Mahmoud, H. Examining the attitudes and behaviors of healthcare providers towards LGBT patients in Lebanon. Journal of Homosexuality. doi:10.1080/00918369.2019.1616431. In press.
Liese, K., Mogos, M., Abboud, S., DeCocker, K., Koch, A., & Geller, S. (2019). Racial/ethnic disparities and severe maternal morbidity in the United States 2002-2014. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 6(4):790-798. doi.org/10.1007/s40615-019-00577-w. In press.
Abboud, S., Lanier, Y, Jemmott, L.S., & Sommers, M.S. (2019). Navigating virginities: enactment of sexual agency among Arab women in the USA. Culture, Health, & Sexuality. doi:10.1080/13691058.2018.1539249.
Brawner, B., Abboud, S., Reason, J., Wingood, G., & Jemmott, L.S. (2019). The development of an innovative, theory-driven, psychoeducational HIV/STI prevention intervention for heterosexually-active Black adolescents with mental illnesses. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies. doi:10.1080/17450128.2019.1567962.
Naal, H., Abboud, S., & Mahmoud, H. (2018). Developing an LGBT-Affirming Healthcare Provider Directory in Lebanon. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health. 23(1):107-110. doi:10.1080/19359705.2018.1538919.
Abboud, S., ^De Penning, E., Brawner, B., Menon, U., Glanz, K., & Sommers, M.S. (2017). Cervical cancer screening among Arab women in the United States; an integrative review. Oncology Nursing Forum, 44(1), E20-E33. doi:10.1188/17.ONF.E20-E33.
Publication Aggregators
Education
2014 PhD, University of Pennsylvania
2007 MS, American University of Beirut, School of Nursing, Lebanon; Minor in Education.
1999 BS, American University of Beirut, School of Nursing, Lebanon
Professional Memberships
2017-present Lebanese Medical Association for Sexual Health (LebMASH), board member
2016-present Sigma Theta Tau International, Alpha Lambda Chapter, member
2014-present Arab American Studies Association, member
2014-present National American-Arab Nurses Association, member
2014-present Association for Middle East Women’s Studies, member
2012-present Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, member
Selected Presentations
2019 Bond, K., Flores, D., Williams, P., Ingram, L., Abboud, S., Leonard, N. Young Black Women’s Sexual Socialization in the Home: Implications for Sexual Health and Comprehensive Sex Education for PrEP Utilization among Youth. American Public Health Association, Philadelphia, USA (Oral).
2019 Chebli, P., Abboud, S., Zayed, L., Molina, Y. Exploring cancer risk perceptions in Arab Americans in Chicago: a mixed method study. American Society of Preventive Oncology, Tampa, FL (Poster).
2018 Abboud, S., Naal, H., Mahmoud, H. LGBT Individuals' Perceptions and Experiences within the Healthcare System in Lebanon. Great Debates and Innovations in Sex Research. Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. Montreal, Canada (Oral).
2018 Abboud, S., Naal, H., Mahmoud, H. Enhancing Access to Healthcare Services for LGBT Individuals in Lebanon. Great Debates and Innovations in Sex Research. Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. Montreal, Canada (Poster).
2017 Abboud, S., Lucas, M.S., Brawner, B., Sommers, M.S. “Everyone Has Their Sexual Morality”: Sexual Attitudes Among Arab Youth in the US. Sex Research Across Disciplines, Distances, and Decades. Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. Atlanta, Georgia, USA (Oral).
2017 Lucas, M.S., Abboud, S. Arabs in the United States: An example at the center of bioethics. Oral Presentation. American Society for Bioethics and Humanities 2017 Annual Meeting, Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
2017 Abboud, S., Mahmoud, H. LebMASH’s history in resilience. GLMA Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality. 35th GLMA Annual Conference on LGBT Health. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (Oral).
2016 Abboud, S., Brawner, B., Sommers, M.S. Exploring healthy sexualities and sexual behaviors in Arab and Arab American youth. Sex Rising: Revolutionary and Emerging Voices in Sexual Science. Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality conference. Phoenix, Arizona, USA (Oral).