A health creating approach to improving breast cancer outcomes in women of Pakistani origin or descent in Waltham Forest

Working via The Health Creation Alliance I facilitated a workshop attended by the project sponsor Novartis and four individuals representing  the NHS, VCFSE sector and people with an interest in, or with lived experience of breast cancer, the ´Good to Great´ appreciative enquiry workshop provided an opportunity for participants to explore, identify and prioritise the attributes of a ´Great´  programme that can enhance post breast cancer treatment support for Pakistani women living in Waltham Forest, and how Waltham Forest was currently delivering against these.

A number priority areas that scored lower on current delivery were then explored to consider actions that could be taken to improve post treatment support with a focus on the strengths of communities and what communities could support and lead on – these can be summarised as:

·       Culturally sensitive messages, and materials in a range of languages, with translation built in and in different formats – leaflets, posters, video, infographic – available in the community, supported by resources that support signposting to additional support and services

·       GPs are informed via training on signs and symptoms, referral and the locally available information and community services

This resulted in the co-production of a number of proposed activities and provisional accountability for delivering these We are now delivering a programme to address these and this should be referenced here including fact that funding has been secured