Engaging Māori wāhine in conversations: BreastScreen Counties Manukau

BreastScreen Counties Manukau held focus groups with Māori women and captured their responses in the report, Engaging Māori Wāhine in Conversations. The report identified key messages and how they should be delivered. Women encouraged the use of humour and the delivery of key messages through conversations among whānau. Important messages to them included “Do it for your whānau” and that screening is free, does not take long and saves lives. The focus groups identified fear of a cancer diagnosis as a key barrier and therefore they thought it was important to emphasise that “not all women get bad news”.

A media company used the findings from the report to develop concepts that were then presented to the women from the focus groups. Their feedback was incorporated into the final TV advertisement.  

Ads appeared on Māori TV and selected radio stations. The photos and messages from these were featured on trailer billboards in areas prior to the mobile visit and advertising on the rear of two buses in South Auckland. During this time, the service also intensively followed up Māori wāhine who did not attend their appointment or did not respond to an invitation.

The campaign ran for six weeks, finishing at the end of June. Staff reported that many women have seen or heard the advertisements, for example, a Māori woman told her radiographer that she booked her mammogram after hearing the radio advertisement.

BreastScreen Counties Manukau reports that its Māori coverage rate has slowly increased from 63.6% in December 2017 to 64.4% in June this year. It believes this is due to a combination of the campaign and a focus on following up women who did not respond. It plans to continue using outdoor advertising and hopes to run another media campaign later in the year.