Population Based Cancer Screening

Finding cancer early increases the chances of successful treatment and survival.

The Latrobe Health Innovation Zone project is working to improve participation in three population-based cancer screening programs (breast, bowel and cervical cancer) and improve access to screening services for vulnerable and high-risk groups.

Screen for Me Campaign

Screen For Me is a social marketing campaign which aims to increase participation in the National Cancer Screening Programs for breast, bowel and cervical cancers. The campaign focuses on external motivations for screening by empowering the local community to start a conversation about cancer screening. Starting as an initial call to action for community to ask their friends and family to Screen For Me, encouraging them to complete their cancer screening for breast, bowel or cervical cancers.

Screen For Me 2019

Screen For Me campaign was launched 2019 and was delivered intensively for three-month period between May and July. Drawing on the strength of the local community the deliver the Screen For Me message, the campaign strategy was centred around the Polaroid Activity, which involved community members having a polaroid photo taken holding a Screen For Me sign, then passing this on to a loved one as a call to action for them to complete their cancer screening.

Screen For Me campaign was rolled out across a number of settings with established connections to the community, including local cafés, workplaces and sporting clubs. In partnership with Nanoo Nanoo Arts, Media and Communications, members of the Gippsland Roller Derby were recruited to become roving ambassadors, taking the message out to a variety of community events across Latrobe. In addition, social media was used as a key strategy to extend the reach and engagement of the Screen For Me campaign and importance of early detection.

Follow Screen For Me on Facebook and Instagram.

Screen For Me 2021

The Screen For Me campaign relaunched in 2021. Using the key learning and insights gained throughout the implementation of the original Screen For Me campaign, Screen For Me has evolved from the initial call to action of asking a loved one to ‘Screen For Me’ to incorporate a wide range of community conversations about population-based cancer screening.

The Screen For Me campaign aims to incorporate a variety of strategies to ensure the key messages effectively reach both the broad population as well as specific under screened members of the community across Latrobe, irrespective of other factors, such as their demographics, postcode, engagement in community and social media usage.

In addition, the Screen For Me campaign will introduce an I’ve Screened For Me component to the campaign, this involves calling out to local people who have screened for breast, bowel or cervical cancer to help spread the message about the positive benefits of screening to role model and normalise cancer screening within the Latrobe Community.

Community Cancer Screening Grants

Community cancer screening grants are being made available to community groups, organisations and/ or individuals to undertake community engagement activities to increase awareness and participation and awareness of breast, bowel and/or cervical cancer screening programs among under-screened people living in Latrobe Valley.

Latrobe Cancer Screening Collaborative Quality Improvement Project

In 2019 the LHIZ team partnered with three General Practice (GP) Clinics in Latrobe to look at innovative ways to improve patient screening rates. By carrying out various Quality Improvement activities over a 9-month period, clinics discovered ways to improve cancer screening rates. As a result of the project cervical cancer screening participation rates in those four clinics increased by 7.4% and bowel cancer screening participation rates increased by 3.5%. Podcast interviews with participants can be found here and a copy of the Final Report can be found here.

Breast Screening Shawl Project

Gippsland PHN partnered with BreastScreen Victoria to deliver a number of evidence-based strategies to increase breast screening participation in Latrobe.

In partnership with BreastScreen Victoria, The Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation Inc. (VACCHO) and Ramahyuck District Aboriginal Corporation and Latrobe Regional Hospital, the Aboriginal Breast Screening Shawl project was trialled in Latrobe to improve the breast screening experiences of local Aboriginal women.

Featuring locally designed Indigenous artwork, a breast screening shawl was provided to local Aboriginal women to wear during their mammogram to enhance comfort and cultural safety. A group booking to BreastScreen Traralgon Clinic was arranged which saw fifteen women screened, of which five were first-timers and three women who had not returned to screen within the recommended timeframe. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Nurse Cervical Screening Accreditation Training

The Nurse Cervical Screening Project aims to increase the number of healthcare professionals qualified as cervical screeners in Latrobe by building the capacity of practice nurses to perform cervical screening and access training locally, when it is normally only available in Melbourne.

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The National Cervical Screening Program

The National Cervical Screening Program offers a five-yearly cervical screening test for women aged between 25 and 74. This revised program replaces the two-yearly Pap test. Women already having Pap tests, should have their first Cervical Screening Test when they are next due for a Pap test. Find out more on 13 15 56.

BreastScreen Australia

BreastScreen Australia is a national breast-screening program for well women without symptoms aged 50-69 years, although women aged 40-49 and 70 years and older are able to attend for screening. Book your free mammogram every two years by calling BreastScreen on 13 20 50.

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program offers eligible Australians aged from 50 to 74 a chance to screen for bowel cancer using a free, simple test at home. Find out more on 1800 118 868