Supporting the uptake of cervical screening within communities experiencing health inequalities
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Healthwatch Islington built on previous research on barriers to cervical screening take up by working with other communities experiencing health inequalities. They delivered six women's wellbeing workshops reaching 112 women and held conversations with 63 women not attending smear tests and 16 who did.
All women found the workshops helpful. Four participants booked an appointment to speak to the nurse to know more about cervical screening, three of these went on to book an appointment for a smear test. 10 workshop participants booked a smear test appointment in total. 24 workshop participants also accessed signposting support for the other health issues, help accessing benefits, and wellbeing services.
The top issues why women didn't attend screening appointments included cultural issues, bad previous experiences and not understanding why they needed to go.
Access issues and issues associated with the screening experience itself were also frequently selected. No single issue within this area was as seen to be as important a barrier as cultural issues, but the combination of difficulties accessing the venue, poor past experiences, language barriers, and unwelcoming staff were identified more often in total. 21 women identified at least one of these issues as a barrier.
When asked what would make them more likely to attend, women said if they got married, the quality of care and language support.
The report looks at the experiences of Bangladeshi, Middle Eastern and Somali communities. It also contains an evaluation of the longer term impact of the cancer champions training and conversations in the community.