Stella Akintomide

Yale-Howard Scholar '04

Stella Akintomide worked with Dr. Ruth McCorkle, Director of the Center for Excellence in Chronic Illness Care at YSN, to investigate quality of life experiences of African American women diagnosed with gynecological cancers. Stella looked at data from Dr. McCorkle's larger study of Health Related Quality of Life Outcomes of cancer patients to determine how the experience of African American women in the study may have been shaped by their cultural and spiritual perspectives, among other factors.

Stella was born and raised in Nigeria and her experience there influenced her decision to pursue nursing research. According to Stella, "In my country women are a very vulnerable population. Added to that, there are very few opportunities for nursing education. My goal is to go back to Nigeria after completing my education, and to incorporate myself into the healthcare system there so that I can work to change that. We definitely need more bachelors programs in nursing and we need a masters program." Speaking about the experience in nursing research she has gained as a Yale-Howard scholar, Stella said, "I think it's really important to educate patients, and I think it's also important to empower them, to give them the tools to manage their own healthcare. I see that as a role for nurses in my country, and by doing nursing research and teaching I hope to be able to empower patients, especially women, to care for themselves and their families." Stella added, "I have been honored and so inspired and educated by my experience here and the chance to work with Dr. McCorkle and her team. I hope to take this experience back to my country and share it."

Yale-Howard Scholars 2006

• LeSabre Bowens
• Sharita Liser
• Foluke Oladeinde
• Oluseyi Sofoluwe

Yale-Howard Scholars 2005

• Katherine San Gabriel
• Nightingale Gacheru
• Richard Phillips
• Jessica Holmes

Yale-Howard Scholars 2004

• Stella Akintomide
• Gilberto Andino
• Eric Foster
• Dwignt Hampton
• Olivia Pessima

Yale-Howard Scholars 2003

• Tracy Brewington
• Krystal Perkins
• Jessica Campbell-Hamilton
• Graciella Rodriguez-Santos
• Chinenye Udemezue

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