The role of knowledge, primary care and community engagement to improve breast-screening access for Pakistani women in the United Kingdom: A secondary analysis of a qualitative study

Hooran M Khattak, Victoria G Woof, David P French, Louise S Donnelly, Helen Ruane, Fiona Ulph, Nadeem Qureshi, Nasaim Khan, D Gareth Evans, Kathryn A Robb

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Objective: Breast cancer incidence is rising among Pakistani women in the United Kingdom. However, uptake of breast screening remains low. This study aimed to improve access to breast screening for British-Pakistani women by exploring their knowledge of breast cancer and the role of primary care and community networks to support screening access amongst British-Pakistani women. Methods: We undertook a secondary qualitative analysis of 18 semi-structured interviews with British-Pakistani women from East Lancashire in the United Kingdom. Anonymized transcripts of the interviews were used for a thematic analysis. Results: Three themes were identified in the interviewees’ responses: (i) ‘Women’s knowledge of breasts and breast cancer’, which described how a cultural taboo exists around Pakistani women’s bodies and around breast cancer; (ii) ‘Role of primary care’, which detailed how General Practitioners can support informed decisions and offer a trusted and valued information source; (iii) ‘Community engagement’, which described the potential to disseminate breast-screening information through the whole community, including primary care providers, all family members and mosques. Conclusions: Our analysis suggested three main targets for future interventions to improve access to breast screening for British-Pakistani women: (i) co-produced strategies to increase knowledge of breasts and breast screening; (ii) greater collaboration with local General Practitioners to support women to make informed choices about screening; and (iii) community engagement involving General Practitioners and community leaders, to inform everyone – not just screening-age women – about breast cancer and screening.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)149-156
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Health Services Research and Policy
Volume28
Issue number3
Early online date11 Apr 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2023

Keywords

  • Breast screening
  • ethnic minorities
  • screening access

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