Screening Promotion
The National Cancer Screening Service has a designated team of Screening Promotion Officers based in different areas across the country. Individual team members are based in Cork, Dublin, Galway and Limerick.
The success of our screening programmes is dependent on the participation of women. The main function of the screening promotion team is to inform eligible women about BreastCheck and CervicalCheck and to enable them to participate in these programmes. This is achieved by developing and implementing effective screening promotion strategies.
We acknowledge that all eligible women have the right to participate in our screening services. The role of the Screening Promotion team is to increase awareness of the benefits and limitations of screening so that women can make an informed choice on attending for screening.
It is a priority of the National Cancer Screening Service (NCSS) to ensure that its services are accessible to all eligible women in the population. Some women experience barriers that hinder their access to screening services e.g. fear, transport difficulties, disabilities, literacy difficulties and language barriers. It is a specific focus of the Screening Promotion team to identify women who do not attend for screening. In collaboration with key community partners and health professionals, the team aim to implement special measures to reduce barriers and enable eligible women to participate in BreastCheck and CervicalCheck.
Screening Promotion Activities
The following is an overview of the work carried out by the Screening Promotion team:
Health Education
- Provide health education sessions about breast and cervical screening to women in the format of workshops or presentations
- Provide information stands at workplaces, hospitals, shopping centres, community events and conferences
Community Work
- Train community advocates in promoting the BreastCheck and CervicalCheck message
- Present at local events and conferences
- Provide information through workshops or information stands at community events
- Ensure collaborative partnerships are created with key community networks, in order to assess and address local barriers to screening and support long-term participation
Examples of some of the community networks the Screening Promotion team work with:
- Area-based Partnerships
- RAPID Coordinators
- Community Development Projects
- Family Resource Centres
- Women’s Networks
Health Professionals
- Update health professionals on progress in relation to both screening programmes
- Present at regional/national meetings
- Attend national conferences
- Develop training
Communications
- Work closely with the communications department to provide information to a range of audiences about BreastCheck and CervicalCheck. Tools have been developed by the communications team to support this work e.g. leaflets, DVD’s and pictorial guides
- Ensure that the BreastCheck and CervicalCheck message is promoted through local media
Advocacy
- Act as an advocate for women and for target groups of women
- Act as a conduit for information between women and the NCSS
Please see http://www.breastcheck.ie/publications/index.html and http://www.cervicalcheck.ie/publications/publications.524.html for communications materials.
Contacting the Screening Promotion Team
The Screening Promotion team is available to work with community groups, women’s groups and health professionals who would like to collaborate in order to increase awareness and reduce barriers which prevent women from accessing the screening services.
If you have a query in relation to the work of the Screening Promotion team or if you would like to contact the Screening Promotion Officer in your area please email screening.promotion@cancerscreening.ie