Bradford cancer screening for South Asian women project hailed
A research project aimed at increasing the uptake of cancer screenings among South Asian Muslim women in Bradford by working with their male family members has been hailed a successful community engagement programme.
Developed in partnership with women in Bradford from the South Asian community, the Muslim Families Screening 4 Life project has seen researchers at the University of Bradford team up with organisations including Faith in Communities, Bradford Institute for Health Research, Sharing Voices Bradford and the British Islamic Medical Association to carry out the work.
The three-year project, funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, aimed to engage South Asian Muslim men in Bradford to understand whether they could be effective advocates for cancer screening within their communities.
In total,1,072 men took part, and 58 workshops were held at Bradford district venues including mosques, gyms and community centres, aimed at increasing the uptake of cancer screenings among South Asian Muslim women.
The project, which started in August 2022, presented its findings at an event held at the University of Bradford on Tuesday 24 June.
Dr Mel Cooper, Reader in Maternity and Migrant Health at the University of Bradford and joint lead on Muslim Families Screening 4 Life, said: “This project has seen grassroots level organisations working together with the same purpose. We are delighted to reach 1,072 men, which was above our target of 1,000.
“We hope the word has spread through the communities and more women have taken up screenings after this project and we have helped to save lives.”
Some of the researchers for the Muslim Families Screening 4 Life project line up. Images credit: University of Bradford
The need for the project
Screenings among Muslim women for breast, cervical and bowel cancer in the Bradford district is low. There are 18,500 overdue screens for bowel, breast and cervical cancer in the BD2, 3, 5, 7 and 8 postcode areas of Bradford.
How the project worked
The project has been co-designed with the South Asian Muslim community in the Bradford district, delivered to males aged 16 and over in places where they meet such as mosques, boxing clubs and community centres. Sixth form students at Bradford schools and colleges and students at the University of Bradford also took part in the research.
Researchers were looking for men to sign up for the project, then to go home and have conversations with six women in their families, encouraging them to sign up for potentially lifesaving cancer screenings.
At the end of each workshop, a questionnaire was completed by the men who attended, which included their knowledge and understanding of the need for the project. Interviews were also carried out with a sample of men and women.
Initial data collected during the research project has been analysed by the University of Bradford and will be used to shape future follow-up projects.
Zahid Khan, Community Development Worker with Sharing Voices Bradford, who helped deliver the workshops, said: “The men have been receptive. Men have come up to us after the sessions and said the project is important and they were glad that we’re talking about it [cancer screenings for women].”
Dr Stuart Griffiths, Director of Research at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said: “The Muslim Families Screening 4 Life project has been instrumental in gathering valuable insight about participation in screening, directly from the Muslim community in Bradford.
“It’s vital that these learnings are used to enable more women to benefit from these life-saving tests. In addition, the Government must fund and quickly introduce innovations in screening to help reduce health inequalities so more people in Yorkshire live longer healthier lives, free of cancer.”