Screening

The National Screening Service (NSS) has a designated team of Screening Promotion Officers based in different areas across the country. Individual team members are based in Cork, Dublin, Galway and Limerick.

The success of our screening programmes is dependent on the participation of the eligible population of the four programmes.

The main function of the Screening Promotion Team is to inform eligible women about:

  • BreastCheck – The National Breast Screening Programme
  • CervicalCheck – The National Cervical Screening Programme

To inform eligible men and women about:

  • Diabetic RetinaScreen - The National Diabetic Retinal Screening Programme
  • BowelScreen - the National Bowel Screening Programme

Our work aims to enable the eligible population, and in particular ‘hard to reach’ groups to participate in these programmes. This is achieved by developing and implementing effective screening promotion strategies.

We acknowledge that all eligible men and women have the right to participate in our screening services. The role of the Screening Promotion Team is to increase awareness of the benefits and limitations of screening so that people can make an informed choice on attending for screening.

It is a priority of the NSS to ensure that its services are accessible to all eligible men and women in the population. Some people experience barriers that hinder their access to screening services e.g. fear, transport difficulties, disabilities, literacy difficulties and language. It is a specific focus of the Screening Promotion Team to identify those who do not attend for screening. In collaboration with key community partners and health professionals, the team aims to implement special measures to reduce barriers and enable the eligible population to participate in all four screening programmes.

Screening Promotion Activities

The following is an overview of the work carried out by the Screening Promotion Team:

Health Education
  • Provide health education sessions about the four screening programmes to the eligible population in the format of workshops or presentations
  • Provide information stands at workplaces, hospitals, shopping centres, community events and conferences
Community Work
  • Train community advocates in promoting the screening message
  • Present at local events and conferences
  • Provide information through workshops or information stands at community events
  • Ensure collaborative partnerships are created with key community networks, in order to assess and address local barriers to screening and support long-term participation

Examples of some of the community networks the Screening Promotion Team work with:

  • Area-based Partnerships
  • RAPID Coordinators
  • Community Development Projects
  • Family Resource Centres
  • Women’s Networks
Health Professionals
  • Update health professionals on progress in relation to all four screening programmes
  • Present at regional/national meetings
  • Attend national conferences
  • Develop training
Communications
  • Work closely with the communications department to provide information to a range of audiences about all four screening programmes. Tools have been developed by the communications team to support this work e.g. leaflets and pictorial guides
  • Ensure that the screening message is promoted through local media
Advocacy
  • Act as an advocate for ’hard to reach’ groups
  • Act as a conduit for information between members of the public and the NSS

Contacting the Screening Promotion Team

The Screening Promotion Team is available to work with community groups and health professionals who would like to collaborate in order to increase awareness and reduce barriers which prevent people from accessing the screening services.

If you have a query in relation to the work of the Screening Promotion team or if you would like to contact the Screening Promotion Officer in your area please email: screening.promotion@screeningservice.ie

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