Improving cancer screening uptake in marginalised groups in Kingston

16 Mar 2018

RM Partners is working alongside Kingston Council’s Public Health Department to increase participation in national cancer screening programmes across populations that are marginalised, do not respond to traditional methods of screening invitation or who are not registered with a GP practice.

A community development worker (CDW) has been recruited to build on existing links with groups prioritised as at risk in the borough, including refugees, people with a disability, black, Asian and minority ethnic groups, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, gypsies and Roma travellers and the homeless.

The CDW will work to identify the barriers faced by these individuals, co-develop solutions with key stakeholders to both raise awareness of the importance of screening and encourage screening participation, and work alongside GPs to capture trends in cancer screening engagement amongst new and existing GP patient registrations. This delivery model is consistent with previous successful work Kingston Council has been undertaking with marginalised groups across the borough.

The project started in January 2018 and will run for one year, with the possibility of a further year if successful. Ongoing performance metrics, such as new GP registrations, number of people attending awareness sessions and number of cancer screening appointments made as a result of the project, will be captured to evaluate the pilot’s success.