NHS Nottingham City
Each year around 230,000 people in England will be diagnosed with cancer and around 125,000 will die from the disease, making it the leading cause of premature mortality.
Research shows significant cancer health inequalities and poor health outcomes for people with cancer.
‘Patients are diagnosed with cancer at a later stage in the UK than in any other European countries and this particularly affects people from deprived areas”. Delay in presentation occurs at both patient and practitioner level.
Nottingham’s Change Makers for Cancer Awareness aims to promote earlier presentation of bowel, breast, lung and prostate cancer using community engagement/empowerment approaches, particularly in local ward areas and communities where cancer inequalities are high.
We support five teams of local people working together in five different communities in Nottingham City (Meadows, Clifton, Radford & Hyson Green, St Anns and the West Area). We use a sustainable methodology to develop new ways of raising awareness of signs and symptoms of cancer and cancer screening programmes.
A range of innovative work is undertaken by the volunteers using social marketing principles and approaches.
Local examples of activities include:
- developing and delivering a radio role play entitled ‘Umeed,’ (hope) to deliver positive messages particularly to the Pakistani community,
- ‘mystery shopping’ in local pharmacists relating to bowel cancer screening material being displayed
- reintroducing a mobile breast screening unit in a more isolated part of the city.
The programme has engaged with 20 GP practices; 13 practices joined the programme in 2008 for which we have a baseline and one year data for comparison. An initial look at the data would suggest an overall 10% improvement across the four measures.
NHS Nottingham City recognised the importance of the work carried out by Change Makers and has mainstreamed it into their work within one year of a nationally funded two year pilot project.
Contact: Tina Bhundia, Health Promotion Specialist on 0115 8839290 or tina.bhundia@nottinghamcity.nhs.uk
