Background

Each year in the UK, more than a quarter of a million people are diagnosed with Cancer, and Doctors estimate that more than 1 in 3 people may develop cancer during their lifetime.Raising awareness of the lifestyle changes that could prevent Cancer, the signs and symptoms of early cancer and encouraging people to seek help sooner and access appropriate screening programmes, are all important factors in improving cancer outcomes.

National research shows there is a poor awareness of cancer and uptake of cancer screening amongst Black Minority Ethnic communities. It has been recognised that appropriate and translated cancer information is not available locally.

NHS Dudley would like to develop a resource to raise awareness of the importance of cancer screening that meets the needs of local BME communities.

The project will focus on raising awareness to the 3 National Screening Programmes:

Cervical screening – 25-64 years – women

Breast screening – 50-70 years – women

Bowel screening – 60 -69 years – men and women

NHS Dudley in partnership with Walsall arts into Health are currently delivering a creative participatory arts project to engage with the targeted audiences to raise awareness to the key messages and to develop ideas for appropriate, accessible and eye catching promotional products and resources.

The project will focus on three languages; Urdu, Punjabi and Arabic, that serves the wider BME population in Dudley Borough with the final resources reflecting these languages.

This project is currently underway…more to follow shortly!…

37 Creative cancer awareness workshops have been delivered across Dudley with existing community groups.

There are three main strands to the project:

• To use creative arts approaches to engage with BME communities to raise awareness of the importance of cancer screening and signs and symptoms to be concerned about.
• Through the creative workshops ideas will be developed that will inform the design for appropriate cancer awareness resources. These will be piloted and then finally produced in three different community languages and will be used to raise awareness of the importance of early presentation and cancer screening.
• To recruit ‘Community Health Champions’ through the project who will provide support and encouragement to others in their communities in relation to cancer awareness raising and uptake of screening.

Between September – December 2010 a team of 4 artists have delivered a range of workshops with community groups across Dudley. Artists ashok Mystry, Neemita Dahbi, Laura Hickman and Fiona Waddle have delivered 37 workshops in photography, ceramics, textile/decorative arts, silk painting, felt making, painting and jewelry. The workshops have focused on giving people the chanve to try new creative activities, develop new skills and also through conversations raise awareness to the key cancer awareness/screening messgaes.

To support the evaluation of the project a range of evaluation tools are being used including the delivery of a CAM Survey with project participants before and after the creative intervention. This is being delivered by an externa; agency.

Consultation around the development of the community resources is currently underway with the resources being produced January- March 2011

More information to follow shortly…

More information to follow shortly…

More information to follow shortly…