Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Feb;34(1):246-254.
doi: 10.1002/hpja.635. Epub 2022 Jul 18.

Talking about health: Community ambassadors as a health promotion strategy to increase breast and bowel cancer screening in regional Australia

Alexandra James  1 , Daniel Chamberlain  2 , Denise Azar  3 , Lauren Sewell  3
Affiliations

Talking about health: Community ambassadors as a health promotion strategy to increase breast and bowel cancer screening in regional Australia

Alexandra James et al. Health Promot J Austr. 2023 Feb.

Abstract

Issue addressed: In Australia, cancer is the leading contributor to disease burden, with breast and bowel cancer among the most commonly diagnosed cancers. Despite the presence of community-wide health promotion activities and screening programs, people living in regional and rural locations experience a number of factors that reduce breast and bowel cancer survival outcomes. This study investigates the ways that high-risk community members in a regional area of Australia interact with health messaging about breast and bowel cancer screening.

Methods: A qualitative research method was used to conduct 31 in-depth one-on-one interviews with community members, leaders and essential service providers. A thematic approach was used to analyse data.

Results: Findings provided insight to the ways that health is spoken about within the community, what prompts discussion of health, trustworthy sources of health information and the significance of peer-to-peer communication.

Conclusions: Existing community communication lines can be used to assist in delivering public health messages among high-risk and vulnerable population groups. Utilising community ambassadors is identified as a health promotion method for hard-to-reach populations. SO WHAT?: Conversations about health and screening amongst community members, and led by community members, play a key role in shaping engagement with cancer screening programs and represent an important site for health promotion activities. These findings have implications for future public health initiatives amongst high-risk groups in regional locations.

Keywords: early detection of cancer; health behaviour; health promotion; qualitative research; rural health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare . Australian Burden of Disease Study 2019 ‐ key findings, Cat. no. BOD 30. 2021. [cited 2022 Jan 31]. Available from: www.aihw.gov.au/reports/burden‐of‐disease/burden‐of‐disease‐study‐2018‐k....
    1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare . Cancer data in Australia, Cat. no. CAN 122. 2021. [cited 2022 Jan 31]. Available from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/cancer/cancer-data-in-australia/contents....
    1. Millard FB. Bowel cancer screening in Australia. Aust Fam Physician. 2006;35(4):188–91. - PubMed
    1. Nickson C, Velentzis LS, Brennan P, Mann GB, Houssami N. Improving breast cancer screening in Australia: a public health perspective. Health Res Pract. 2009;29(2):2921911. - PubMed
    1. Christou A, Thompson SC. Missed opportunities in educating aboriginal Australians about bowel cancer screening: whose job is it anyway? Contemp Nurse. 2013;46(1):59–69. - PubMed