Initiatives for Reducing Health Inequalities in the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme

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Initiatives for Reducing Health Inequalities in
the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme
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Health Inequalities

• Learning Disabilities
• Low Literacy Levels
• Mental Health Problems
• Sensory Impairment
• Blind and Visually Impaired People
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community
• Black and Racial Minority Communities
• Travelling Communities
• Prison Population
• Homeless

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Learning Disabilities

• Increased risk of developing Bowel Cancer
• Linked to obesity and poor diet
• Lack of physical activity
• Exclusion from screening programmes
• Higher Mortality
• Linked to late presentation of symptoms.

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Barriers for patients with Learning
Disabilities/Difficulties

• Communication
• Recognition of ill health is often difficult.
  Signs and symptoms for bowel cancer not always
  recognised
• Literacy level
• Resources / lack of pictorial easy read
  information
• Practical issues for completion of the Faecal
  Occult Blood Test

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Initiatives

• Easy Read Patient leaflet
• Anticipatory Care Calendar
• DVD
• Training and Awareness raising sessions for staff
  working across Cheshire and Merseyside
• Community Events

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Mental Health

• Schizophrenia
• Recent research shows that people with this
  condition are at increased risk of developing
  bowel cancer

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Barriers for patients with Mental Health problems

• Lack of awareness about the benefits of screening
• Poorer knowledge of health topics
• Low self esteem
• Lack of motivation
• Difficulty in accessing services
• Practical issues for completion of the Faecal
  Occult Blood Test

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Initiatives

• Training and Awareness Raising Sessions for staff
  across Cheshire and Merseyside
• Distribution of DVD

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Sensory Impairment

• Blind and Visually Impaired People
• Difficulty in understanding written invitations
  and information ( The Facts)
• Difficulty with completion of the Kit
• Access

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Deaf and Hard of Hearing People

• Communication
• British Sign Language is their first language
  ,structure is different
• Difficulty communicating needs with Primary
  Health Care Teams or secondary Care
• Less aware of benefits of screening

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Initiatives

• Research Chester University
• CD
• Locally produced CD
• DVD
• Interpreted into British Sign Language and
  subtitles for Hard of Hearing
• British Sign Language interpreter

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Black and Racial Minority Communities

• Culture
• Language
• Invitations and Information sent out in English
• Access
• Less aware of benefits of screening

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Initiatives

• Involvement of Social Inclusion Team
• Education Sessions
• Locally produced DVD-13 Languages
• Translated pull-ups and Posters
• Community Events
• Interpreters

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Travelling Communities

• Culture
• Low Literacy
• Self Contained
• Initiatives
• Designated Health Visitor for Travelling
  Community
• Easy Read Pictorial Leaflet
• DVD

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Contact Details

• Maureen Sayer
• Health Improvement Practitioner
• maureen.sayer_at_aintree.nhs.uk