The NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service (MHCS) is marking Multicultural Health Week this week (5-11 September) with a new campaign highlighting the importance of cancer screening.
Announcing the campaign Cancer screening saves lives, Minister for Health, Brad Hazzard said it aimed at increasing screening rates for breast, cervical and bowel cancer among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.
“Screening for cancer and catching it early is the best chance of survival and I encourage everyone who is eligible, particularly those in CALD communities, to get screened,” Mr Hazzard said.
“The tests are free, easy to access and save lives.”
He said MHCS, in partnership with the Cancer Institute NSW, produced new in-language resources about cancer screening to encourage more people to take the tests, including a one-minute video to promote Multicultural Health Week with a focus on the three cancer screening programs in Arabic, Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin, Vietnamese and English.
Mr Hazzard said the resources also included a 45-second radio advertisement in 20 languages, a What is cancer screening? factsheet in 38 languages, and a Multicultural Health Week Poster and social media assets, also in 38 languages.
Chief Cancer Officer NSW, Tracey O’Brien said it was important to address the barriers that prevented people from CALD communities from screening for cancers.
“We know that there are specific barriers for CALD communities participating in screening,” Professor O’Brien said.
“These include low awareness, language barriers, differing beliefs around cancer and stigma associated with cancer,” she said.
MHCS’s Multicultural Health Week resources can be accessed at this PS News link.
