Cervical Screening Materials For Aboriginal Audiences

The NSW Cervical Screening Program and BreastScreen NSW have worked with Aboriginal stakeholders to develop the ‘Live strong and healthy’ resources.

About the DNA Artwork

The ‘DNA’ artwork created by acclaimed Aboriginal artist Bronwyn Bancroft and especially commissioned by the Cancer Institute of NSW represents a number of elements significant to cancer screening and Aboriginal women. The DNA strands which feature in the artwork represents a person’s unique ‘blueprint for life’. DNA enables various cells to develop and work together to form a fully functional and healthy body. The symbolism of the DNA strand also represents self-protective factors – visually creating a ‘protective shield’ around the female form in the artwork. The red, yellow and black circles represent cells in the human body and cellular change and growth through the arrangement of a series of smaller and larger cells. These cells represent strong and healthy women looking after themselves through regular screening or checks for breast and cervical cancer.

Self-protection and prevention is the unifying theme here with women being asked to look after themselves with the aim to ‘Live strong and Healthy’ – the headline copy for the materials.

To order the ‘Live strong and Healthy’ Cervical Screening resources go to: http://www.csp.nsw.gov.au/gps/order/Order.aspx

To order the ‘Live strong and Healthy’ BreastScreen NSW resources go to: http://www.bsnsw.org.au/resources/resources.htm

About the Artist

Bronwyn Bancroft is an Aboriginal artist and designer whose artworks have been collected by galleries and museums throughout Australia, in the USA and Germany. A descendant of the Bundjalung people of New South Wales, Bronwyn grew up in the small country town of Tenterfield. She now lives in Sydney with her three children. ‘The work that I do challenges people to accept Indigenous peoples as equals. My target is just about anyone who has an interest in art and wants to introduce art into their lives, in a personal or public manner’ says Bronwyn.

“A Message to Aboriginal Women”

This resource was written for staff working with Aboriginal women in the New England Area. The project was funded by the NSW Cervical Screening Program and the New England Area Health Service.

This resource provides information about Pap tests and issues related to Cervical Screening and offers ways in which workers can introduce the subject of the Pap test to Aboriginal women in a culturally appropriate way. It aims to encourage Aboriginal women to have two yearly Pap tests by providing information about:

• The parts of the body that involved in a Pap test
• What a Pap test is and how it is done
• Who should have a Pap test, and how often
• Getting Pap test results
• What happens if a Pap test is abnormal
• Treatment options
• The importance of follow up treatment

The resource has been designed as a small group discussion activity and consists of facilitator notes, a set of overheads and a booklet for women. Please call the Program on 131 556 if you would like more information about this resource and the way it is intended to be used.