Supporting access to screening
Supporting access to screening
Pharmacy teams have an important role to play in supporting people to access cancer screening, make informed choices and overcome any barriers that prevent them from accessing screening.
This support might include:
- Display posters or leaflets in the pharmacy and talk through them with people when appropriate
- Take part in national campaigns and relevant cancer awareness days or months.
- People will only be invited for screening if they are registered with a GP. Ask people if they are registered and tell them to make sure their details are up to date. Support them to register if they are not already.
- Opportunities may arise to discuss screening, for example, in an emergency contraception consultation or as part of a structured medication review.
Barriers
Barriers that stop people accessing cancer screening include:
- Practical barriers – not knowing how to book an appointment or complete the test
- Not being aware they are eligible or not being aware that screening is available
- Fear of cancer – not wanting to know what the test might find
- Beliefs related to ethnicity, culture or deprivation
- Communication barriers
- The test itself putting people off (for example, the risk of embarrassment and discomfort, or the time required out of a busy schedule or lifestyle)
- Lack of awareness of the purpose of screening, and/or the importance of screening.