Sarah Abboud, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor
Department of Women, Children and Family Health Science
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Contact
Building & Room:
NURS
Address:
845 S. Damen Ave., MC 802, Chicago, IL 60612
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Email:
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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 Lebanese gay and bisexual 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 are working 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 am currently a Visiting Faculty Fellow 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, UIC, Toward the development of a community-based and youth-focused sexual violence prevention intervention for Arabs in Chicago, Principal Investigator
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
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
Agenor, M., Abboud, S., Delgadillo, J. G., Perez, A. E., Peitzmeier, S. M., & Borrero, S. (2018). Intersectional nativity and racial/ethnic disparities in human papillomavirus vaccination initiation among US women: a national population-based study. Cancer Causes & Control, 29(10), 927-936. doi:10.1007/s10552-018-1069-1
Abboud, S., Lanier, Y, Jemmott, L.S., & Sommers, M.S. (2018). Navigating virginities: enactment of sexual agency among Arab women in the USA. Culture, Health, & Sexuality. In press.
Naal, H., Abboud, S., & Mahmoud, H. (2018). Developing an LGBT-Affirming Healthcare Provider Directory in Lebanon. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health. Letter to the editor. In press.
Abboud, S., Kim, S., Jacoby, S., Mooney-Doyle, K., Waite, T., Froh, B., Kim, H., Sowicz, T., Kelly, T.A., & Kagan, S. (2017). Co-creation of a pedagogical space to support qualitative inquiry: An advanced qualitative collective. Nurse Education Today, (50), 8-11.
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
2018 Abboud, S., Naal, H., Mahmoud, H. LGBT Individuals' Perceptions and Experiences within the Healthcare System in Lebanon. Oral presentation. Great Debates and Innovations in Sex Research. Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. Montreal, Canada.
2018 Abboud, S., Naal, H., Mahmoud, H. Enhancing Access to Healthcare Services for LGBT Individuals in Lebanon. Poster presentation. Great Debates and Innovations in Sex Research. Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. Montreal, Canada.
2017 Abboud, S., Lucas, M.S., Brawner, B., Sommers, M.S. “Everyone Has Their Sexual Morality”: Sexual Attitudes Among Arab Youth in the US. Oral Presentation. Sex Research Across Disciplines, Distances, and Decades. Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
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. Oral Presentation. GLMA Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality. 35th GLMA Annual Conference on LGBT Health. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
2016 Abboud, S., Brawner, B., Sommers, M.S. Exploring healthy sexualities and sexual behaviors in Arab and Arab American youth. Oral Presentation. Sex Rising: Revolutionary and Emerging Voices in Sexual Science. Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality conference. Phoenix, Arizona, USA.