Deaf Community Gut Health/Bowel Cancer Workshop
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Healthwatch Newham undertook a workshop to increase d/Deaf people's knowledge about gut health and bowel cancer. They found the following:
Information about bowel cancer and gut health can be difficult for a significant proportion of d/Deaf people to understand. The lack of BSL interpreters at appointments and within health information materials also poses a barrier to understanding.
While much of the current health information is found online, a segment of the d/Deaf community faces challenges due to limited digital literacy or access, making it difficult for them to independently seek out and obtain crucial details about bowel cancer and gut health.
Some individuals expressed reservations about participating in bowel cancer screening due to the nature of the screening kit itself, finding the process unpleasant or off-putting.
Participants found the workshop particularly beneficial in providing practical guidance and instruction on how to correctly utilise the bowel cancer screening kit, increasing their confidence in participating in the screening process.