Regional Screening Services Wellington spreads the word to new immigrants

Both breast and cervical screening were a focus in Wellington, with a well-attended Refugee Communities Safety and Wellbeing Day in Porirua.

More than 100 women visited the breast and cervical screening promotion site to talk with Regional Recruitment & Retention Advisors Palolo Scanlan and Te Rangi Winitana. They were kept busy answering questions and providing women with information translated into a number of different languages. The information was well received and the whole event a great success.

The main immigrant populations in Porirua are from Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Colombia, and many had not heard of breast or cervical screening. Te Rangi has been involved with the organisation of the annual event since it was first held three years ago. More than 20 organisations provided information at the event to help refugees settle in New Zealand, including how to access various health and social services.

Regional Screening Services has also undertaken training with refugee service community workers so they take the key messages of breast and cervical screening into their respective communities in their own languages.