Publish date: 15 December 2021
Community groups and other organisations can now boost their cancer awareness messages and campaigns with a new, comprehensive resource from Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance (CMCA).
Community engagement is an incredibly important way to get the right information about cancer to the public. From busting myths about how people develop the disease, to promoting the vital role of screening in detecting cancer earlier, to warning people to watch out for signs and symptoms – getting the correct knowledge to people has never been more crucial.
So, with the help of local awareness-raising organisation Action On Cancer (AoC), Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance has published advice, guidelines, support and links in one ‘toolkit’ to help organisations and individuals to engage with their communities and spread the word.
The Action on Cancer Toolkit combines practical resources with tried and tested methods to enhance community engagement and improve cancer outcomes for local people.
The toolkit will help community organisers to achieve three primary objectives:
• Promote, encourage and empower people to have healthier lifestyles
• Increase early diagnosis of cancers through screening programmes
• Empower patients to recognise possible early signs and symptoms of cancer and take timely action
The toolkit has been developed from successful initiatives in South Cheshire and Vale Royal, which transformed outcomes by using the AoC approach. During the initiatives, the AoC team interacted with more than 26,000 people at almost 700 community events and their messages reached 87,598 people.
From being among the worst places in the UK for early diagnosis and one-year cancer survival, they became recognised as two of the most improved areas in the country for cancer survival for three consecutive years. They saw a 12% improvement in early-stage cancer diagnosis, up to 61% by the end of 2019. And when they targeted non-responders for bowel cancer screening, almost half of people agreed to participate.
The toolkit explains how community organisations can replicate this successful initiative as well as giving contact details and links to people who can offer further help and support.
Tracey Wright, CMCA Associate Director, said: “The Action on Cancer Toolkit is an extremely useful resource for community organisers who want to inform people in their area about cancer – and ultimately to create better outcomes for people who develop it.
“The toolkit provides the necessary background knowledge on how to create and sustain campaigns at a grassroots level and has a large number of resources which can help.
“The Alliance is extremely grateful to the AoC team which has helped us to produce this. Hopefully, it will allow groups across Cheshire and Merseyside to replicate the AoC team’s success with community engagement.”
You can read and download the toolkit by clicking here