How do you reach more than 30000 people with the vital breast awareness message?
For us last year part of the answer was by working with a Scottish Government health promotion campaign Detect Cancer Early. Our Breast Health Promotion (BHP) team delivered bespoke training courses to staff working on the campaign.
Equipped with the knowledge from our training course and backed by a hard-hitting advertising campaign starring actress Elaine C Smith the DCE team went on to reach thousands with information about the importance of breast awareness and early detection of breast cancer.
Reducing health inequality
At Breast Cancer Care we’re committed to ensuring women and men receive and understand the importance of the breast awareness/early detection message especially people at high risk of breast cancer and with poorer breast cancer awareness.
Our BHP team of health promotion specialists delivers a range of breast awareness training courses for healthcare professionals and community workers/volunteers. We use health education and promotion to cascade the breast awareness/early detection message and reduce health inequalities.
Tools knowledge and confidence
The BHP team has been delivering courses since developing the flagship Train the Trainer: Breast Health Promotion in 2008. The portfolio now includes a course for people who support women with learning disabilities half-day practice nurse sessions and bespoke courses tailored to the needs of individual organisations such as the one delivered to DCE staff.
The aim of each is to equip people with the tools knowledge and confidence to reach their communities with this vital message. Trainees have included heath champions screening staff commissioners school nurses health promotion staff and specialist nurses from organisations including the NHS Cancer Research UK Macmillan Cancer Support and Coppafeel.
Getting better all the time
We’ve now introduced a new course accredited by the Open College Network. The response to it has been overwhelming. People from a variety of sectors have applied for places on courses across the UK including some who’ve been on previous courses and can see the added value of re-training at an accredited level.
A further collaborative training project is a Department of Health-funded joint course with Bowel Cancer UK. This delivers a dual breast/bowel cancer awareness message to key groups. It’s already exceeded targets for numbers of trainees on the course and the number of people who are then reached through the trainees.
In 2013 the BHP team is focusing on areas of social deprivation and low breast screening uptake.
‘Every session was very useful to me. I have more knowledge on breast screening and cancer thanks to you.’ Trainee
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