Dr. Sasha Fahme awarded the 2024 Lila A. and Benedict Wallis Prize for Women's Health Research

Dr. Sasha A. Fahme, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and Co-Director of the Women in Global Health Research Initiative Female Global Scholars Program was recently awarded the 2024 Lila A. and Benedict Wallis Prize for Women's Health Research.

The award, established in 2000, celebrates the legacy of Dr. Benedict Wallis and encourages outstanding women’s health research. Dr. Lilia A. Wallis founded the WCM Women in Medicine & Science initiative to promote women's involvement in medicine and science and served as the inaugural president of the National Council on Women’s Health, which empowers women to make informed health decisions.

Dr. Fahme’s work to improve health care for Syrian refugee women in Lebanon exemplifies the mission of this award, embodying a commitment to advancing women's health and well-being in humanitarian crises. Her mixed-methods study investigates the structural determinants of sexual health and the relationship to violence, war trauma and mental health among Syrian refugee women in an urban refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon. This study adopted a community-based sampling strategy, leveraging community health workers within the refugee camp. From November 2022 and December 2023, a survey capturing psychosocial and sexual health factors, was administered among 250 women, who were also tested for syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections. The study revealed a high prevalence of violence, with 80% of women experiencing at least one form of sexual, physical or emotional violence, seven times higher than previously documented. Women reported an average of 12 traumatic war events, with high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (78.8%) and food insecurity (95%). Additionally, a lifetime history of STIs was reported by 63.4% of women and was significantly associated with sexual violence. The sexual health of Syrian refugee women is linked to a syndemic of violence, war trauma, poor mental health, and food insecurity. These findings underscore the critical need for comprehensive health care interventions  including social and psychological support services to improve the health of women during humanitarian crises.

Article by Alexandra Cordeiro