NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Gwich'in Settlement Area, Sahtu Settlement Area

Tags: health, health promotion, cancer screening

Objective(s): To work with community and health leaders in Inuvik and Fort Good Hope to develop cancer screening information materials that meet the priorities of the communities.

Project Description: Cancer screening involves different tests to detect many types of cancer at earlier stages, and can increase successful treatment and decrease the burden on patients. Screening can also increase survival rates and prevent early deaths due to cancer. Three screening programs have been established in Canada for early detection of breast, colorectal, and cervical cancers. The team will work with community and health leaders in Inuvik as well as the GOBA cancer group (a group that has been established in Fort Good Hope with the name GOBA meaning “light on the horizon” in the local language) to develop cancer screening information materials that meet the priorities of the communities. These materials may be posters, pamphlets and videos which will tell the stories of local community members who have been touched by cancer. The materials will be translated into the local language and the community will be asked to evaluate and provide feedback on the materials. The information will be shared throughout the local communities, government and other Indigenous cancer groups in the Northwest Territories and across Canada. This work is a follow-up to previous work done during the ACCESS project in Fort Good Hope and Inuvik when the team talked to men and women to listen to individual thoughts and knowledge on breast, colorectal and cervical cancer screening and personal use of these services. The research team will meet with the existing Community Advisory Board (CAB) to discuss how to develop the education materials. The CAB will ensure cultural appropriateness of the materials and is important for the successful sharing of knowledge with the communities and policy makers. Previous study data (ACCESS) and territorial cancer screening guidelines will be used during the writing of scripts and storyboards for educational videos. Videos featuring local cancer survivors, Elders and other community members were suggested as an important way to share knowledge and experiences. Short (3-5 minute) videos will be produced for each of the 3 cancer screening services (breast, cervical, and colorectal) for a total of 12 videos. The 4 types of videos for each screening program will be: a. What happens during screening, told through interviews with local community members, b. Why and when to get screened and what does screening tell you, c. What happens during the screening process and what parts of the human body will be examined, and d. Ways that healthcare staff can improve patient experiences and minimize discomfort during screening. Printed materials (pamphlets and posters) will be developed along with the videos and will include: a. Cancer and cancer screening services, as well as cancer terminology, described in the local language using common words; and, b. Myths regarding cancer and cancer screening services. A community staff member and a team member will be trained to collect information from the communities. The local staff will become familiar with the materials and will talk about the program within the communities. Indigenous community members between the ages of 18 and 74 years who have lived in Fort Good Hope or Inuvik for at least 6 months will be asked to take part in sharing circles where participants will be asked to provide feedback and suggest changes for draft posters, pamphlets and storyboards for videos that aim to provide education on the screening process. These sharing circles will be advertised through local radio and posters and flyers designed by the CAB. Local health professionals, cancer screening service stakeholders, and Band Council representatives will be asked to talk about the educational materials and provide ideas for changes. Materials will be changed based on the community member’s feedback and suggestions. Video production: the edited storyboards and scripts to be used for video production will be provided by the research team. The producer will travel to Fort Good Hope for 1 week and Inuvik for 1 week under the supervision of the CAB to talk with community members who have volunteered to be filmed for the videos to discuss cancer screening experiences (1 per cancer type). These talks have been set up during previous meetings between the team and the CAB. Community members will assist to translate all materials into the local dialects. The research team already met on several occasions with numerous community members and Indigenous organizations to discuss the creation of the proposed cancer screening educational materials and the team has received their full support, as many individuals feel it is important that this information be shared among communities. The existing community advisory board (CAB) consists of local healthcare professionals, community-staff, Indigenous organization representatives, stakeholders, key community members and Elders who will provide advice and guidance on all parts of the project including cancer screening education materials created. The CAB will make sure the education materials are culturally appropriate and this is vital to the success of the program. The focus will be on continuing the work with a trusted group of partners in the community of Fort Good Hope and Inuvik, creating organizational capacity and establishing the content of print materials and videos related to the early detection of cancer. The CAB support and involvement is important for capacity building and for successful sharing of knowledge among communities and policy makers. The CAB will provide feedback on all materials developed and will advise on appropriate language for the community's education materials. Any interested person can be part of the board as well as all key community leaders, including people who have been part of the community advisory boards before. The team heard through previous work in Fort Good Hope and Inuvik that cancer screening education materials developed in print and video should contain stories and thoughts from community members. The team will train and certify local community members to help with the study, collect stories, be featured on posters, in videos and provide feedback on the materials. Key informant interviews and sharing circles will be held to get feedback from key stakeholders or community members. Key informants will ensure that the needs and concerns of the community are met in relation to the format and content of the education materials for cancer screening services. Locally trained community members will also be involved in the development of materials and the Key Informant interview process. Interviews will be done in person in the local language or English, whichever the participant prefers, at the local health centre or any convenient and confidential location within the community. The project team including people hired from the community and CAB will invite all community members to a feast to talk about the results. The communities will be asked to share the results with other communities, band councils and government organizations. The project team will share the final results with funding agencies, and other places of learning through different forms (e.g. journal publications, websites, community workshops, conference presentations, lectures, and briefing and reporting to communities, government and funding agencies). The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from March 16, 2018 to December 31, 2018.