People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds face unique screening barriers, such as language barriers and fear. At BreastScreen Victoria, we're on a mission to ensure our services are accessible, culturally safe and welcoming, and want to make sure there are no barriers between you and your breast screen.
People from Dari-speaking communities screen for breast cancer less often than the general population. To help address language barriers or fear for Dari-speaking people, we hit the road. We travelled to Cranbourne to deliver a culturally-safe information session, presented in both English and Dari.
Despite a big down-pour of rain on a Friday afternoon, Dari-speaking community members flowed through the door to attend the session, which was all about providing accessible information and awareness about breast health and screening.
The group was very engaged, asking questions about upcoming screening opportunities and eligibility, sharing personal experiences about breast cancer plus plenty of lively chat throughout. Leaving with a few goodie-bags and translated Dari breast-screening resources, each attendee pledged to share what they learnt with five other members in their community.
Member for Cranbourne, Pauline Richards MP reached out to BreastScreen Victoria to put this session together and help reduce screening barriers amongst the Dari-speaking community.
Ms Richards spoke of the importance of local breast-screening opportunities.
"In Cranbourne, we have low rates of screening and so being able to give access to a community that is already experiencing some social isolation in a location that is geographically close to them it really cuts down the barriers to get access to screening."
BreastScreen Victoria's mobile screening service is in Cranbourne now, at the Cranbourne Library until Friday, 5 March. We encourage people aged between 50-74 to make a booking.
"People in Cranbourne live 50kms away from the city, and it's quite difficult to get to other clinics. When you overlay all of those factors– it demonstrates the importance of having the service close to home," Ms Richards added.
We invited Dari-speaking community members to attend a group-booking on Monday, 15 February. With our translator's help at the information session, around 80% of people who attended signed up to participate in the group booking.
You can book an appointment through an interpreter by calling 13 14 50 and ask to be connected to BreastScreen Victoria. We can also arrange for an interpreter to be available at the appointment on request at the booking time.
BreastScreen Victoria is an inclusive space and is committed to supporting diverse community groups and under-screened communities.