Dr. Navkiran Shokar
1989 M.A. University of Cambridge, England
1992 (M.D.)University of Oxford, England
1996 Residency family medicine England
1996—1999 Residency family practice St. Joseph Hospital, Houston
2003 M.P.H. The University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston.
Mentors: Professor Susan C. Weller PM&C and Professor Kyriakos Markides
PM&C.
While completing her masters in public health, Dr.Shokar became interested in
gender and racial/ethnic health disparities in cancer treatment, and this led to
her investigation of gender and racial/ethnic differences in the rates of colon
cancer screening.
In the US, knowledge and understanding about the role of screening in prevention of cancer is especially low among minorities. African Americans suffer disproportionately with the highest mortality rates of all racial/ethnic groups. Though this has been attributed to many sources, there is increasing evidence that mortality differences can be explained by an underutilization of screening. Dr. Shokar believes that part of the reason for this underutilization is that strategies promoting colorectal screening are not gender and/or racial/ethnically grounded. For instance, little is known about racial/ethnic or gender differences in patient preferences for the different colorectal cancer screening test options. Shokar is currently assessing factors correlated with past colorectal cancer screening in these groups by conducting a cross-sectional survey of 600 African American, Hispanic and Non-Hispanic white patients of both genders.
As Texas minority communities grow, it will be more and more important for healthcare providers to be aware of patient preferences when suggesting colorectal screening options. Dr. Shokar intends to use her findings to design clinic and community interventions better tailored to individual minorities and women.
Dr. Shokar having become funded by a major NIH/NCI grant, now leaves her BIRCWH position open for new applicants.