Leicester City PCT ... Ramadan radio reaches its audience
Eastern Leicester PCT found that the uptake of cervical smears was very low compared with other trusts in the strategic health authority. The trust couldn’t find a single reason for why this would be: there are large BME communities but also areas with a large white community; there are pockets of deprivation and pockets of higher income groups. In some practices, the main non-attenders are white women in the 35-45 age group. So the trust took a multi-faceted approach.
One approach involved looking at the low take-up of smears by Somali women. The trust had discussions with a local radio station targeted at the BME community. “During Ramadan, it broadcast a programme about the importance of cervical smears,” explains Sandra Oliver from Eastern Leicester PCT. “At that time a lot of women are at home in the kitchen, preparing food and listening to the radio. The programme was translated into the Somali language.”
One GP practice has a particularly large Somali population. Just 60 per cent went for a cervical smear in the previous five years. “Reminder letters printed in English were not very useful for this group. Some Somali women have difficulties with English and feel awkward discussing the issue with their partners.” So the practice offered them targeted information about the smears when they came into the surgery – they also have a Somali-speaking receptionist. “Thanks to this work, take-up has increased to 90 per cent and it’s now the second highest achieving practice in the trust,” says Ms Oliver.
“In the long run, this will save lives. Of those women walking around without screening, I wonder how many have pre-cancerous cells. They are at risk and that worries me.”