In the spirit of empowering women and to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March, the LHD provided health information sessions for women across the Northern Rivers.
The collaboration with TAFE NSW, Cancer Institute NSW and Northern Rivers Women and Children's Services Inc. provided women from multicultural backgrounds access to free, self-collection cervical screening.
Many of the participants were students at TAFE in the AMEP (Adult Migrant English Program) and spoke a range of languages including Japanese, Spanish, Sinhala, French, Russian, Thai, Swahili, Korean and Cantonese to name a few!
We also showcased the new documentary “Conquering Cancer” as part of a global campaign to increase cervical screening for women.
Over 100 women attended sessions at Ballina, Grafton, Kingscliff, Lismore and Yamba. Many of the women who weren’t up to date with their screenings made appointments for follow up services.
Grafton participants
Here’s what the organisers had to say:
Julie Denney, Project Officer, Cervical Screening Program, Cancer Screening and Prevention, Cancer NSW
Congratulations to the whole Northern NSW team involved in these IWD events – it’s great to see how community events can be so successful when tailored to the needs of the local community and using all the expertise available.
Roslyn Hollis, Clinical Nurse Consultant 2 Women's Health – Clarence, Aruma Community Health
We had a nice group at Yamba. One of the AMEP ladies who missed the Grafton day travelled by bus with her daughter to see us.
For an added bit of fun, we also had a floral arrangement class, followed by a tour of the Yamba Community Health Centre (adjacent to the TAFE) to meet reception staff and familiarise the participants with the building. We then shared a wonderful meal with a selection of international cuisine.
The participants felt they learned a lot and felt more comfortable about trying to access services (including interpreter services) with their GP, Breastscreen and though the Community Health Centre.
Yamba participants
Jane Newman, Clinical Nurse Consultant Women’s Health, Kingscliff Community Health Centre
We had a good turnout at Kingscliff that resulted appointments being made and a variety of questions about cervical screening, vaccinations, breast screen starting age, and even one about bowel screening.
Kingscliff participants
Ballina participants