Lights, camera, action as regional group's life-saving idea wins national award

A Hollywood-themed campaign has meant top honours for an organization in the north west – and the chance to save thousands of lives.

The success of the Lesbian & Gay Foundation’s campaign, encouraging women not to ignore a test which could mean the difference between life and death, has earned the Manchester-based group top billing in the Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust 2011 Cervical Screening Awards.

The “‘Are You Ready For Your Screen Test?’, which included humorous short films on You Tube based on blockbuster movies like Star Wars, Love Actually and Dirty Dancing, was launched by the Lesbian and Gay Foundation in partnership with the University of Salford and funded by the NHS Cervical Screening Programme.

Annie Emery, Programme Manager at the LGF said: “Countless lives have been put at risk for years because of the myth that lesbian and bisexual women don’t need cervical screening.”

“Cervical cancer claims the lives of three women every day in the UK and sees a woman diagnosed every three hours yet cervical cancer is preventable and the NHS screening programme plays a vital role in that, saving around 4,500 lives in England each year.”

“But less than half of lesbian and bisexual women of eligible age we surveyed in the north west had been for cervical screening during the recommended three to five years previously. And we knew lesbian women were being diagnosed with cervical cancer. There was a vital need to raise awareness.”

As well as the You Tube films, the campaign used booklets, posters and radio, print, online and social media advertising and information, all with the Hollywood theme and had a massive impact. After only nine months of raising awareness, screening attendance amongst the lesbian and bisexual women surveyed jumped from 49% to 73%.

"The success of Are You Ready For Your Screen Test? highlights the overwhelming need for, and benefit of, targeted campaigns on a wider scale,” says Annie Emery.

Robert Music, Director of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, the UK’s only charity dedicated to those affected by cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities, said: “I and the rest of the judges were hugely impressed with this wining application. It was innovative, creative and very well targeted.”

“The results of this project are already proving to be very positive and of course this is a great example of best practice that can be shared with other organisations across England and the rest of the UK.”

For more information contact Elizabeth Udall, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust on 07515 852690 or [email protected]

Notes For Editors

• The Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust Cervical Screening Awards 2011 were launched in June 2011 during Cervical Screening Awareness Week. Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust (www.jostrust.org.uk) - is the UK’s only dedicated cervical cancer charity offering support and information for those affected by cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities. National Helpline 0808 802 8000
• The judging panel included: Julietta Patnick, Director, NHS Cancer Screening Programmes; Tim Elliott, Team Leader, Cancer Screening and Male Cancers at the Department of Health; Maggie Luck, Screening Coordinator, Public Health, Camden PCT, Robert Music, Director, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust
• An NHS Information Centre report in October 2010, showed that although coverage had remained steady at 78.9% only 3.3 million women aged 25-64 in England took up their cervical screening invitation in 2009-10 compared to the previous year’s peak of 3.6 million (a rise in cervical screening rates for the first time in almost a decade, attributed to the ‘Jade Goody Effect’).
• Around three women in the UK die each day from cervical cancer, with someone being diagnosed every three hours facing an uncertain future. Over 300,000 women a year are told they may have a cervical abnormality that could require treatment.
• It is estimated that the NHS Cervical Screening Programme saves 4,500 lives every year.Cervical cancer is predominantly caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which can be caught as soon as you start having intimate relationships
• During the project, the research team spoke to almost 1000 lesbian and bisexual women living in the North West, across two surveys which were carried out both before and after the awareness raising campaign.
- In survey 1 just 49% of respondents of an eligible age (25-64) had been for a cervical screening test within NHS recommended time scales (within 3 years for women aged 25-49, and within 5 years for women aged 50-64). In the post campaign survey this figure stood at 73%.
- Survey 1 also showed 70.5% of respondents of an eligible age had been screened within the past 5 years. In survey 2, this figure stood at 79%, which is in line with NHS data for the general population.
- 51% of women at an eligible screening age reported some form of positive behaviour change as a result of the campaign.
- 96% felt that the campaign was effective.
- 93% of participants think more needs to be done to train health professionals in the needs of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) women relating to cervical screening.