Project PEDHSC13

Evaluation of The British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA) intervention for bowel cancer screening in the Muslim community

Daksha Trivedi and Claire Thompson (UH) are supporting colleagues at NHS England and Improvement, in partnership with the British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA), to design and carry out an evaluation of an educational bowel cancer screening intervention in Luton and Peterborough.

Background

Cancer screening initiatives play a crucial role in early disease detection and prevention and contribute to saving 10,000 lives in England every year. In the case of bowel cancer, early detection and treatment considerably improve survival outcomes – 9 in 10 people survive for five years or more when diagnosed at an earlier stage compared to 1 in 10 when diagnosed at a later stage. NHS England offers free screening kits to anyone aged 50 to 74, living in England and registered with a GP. These kits can detect cancer even before symptoms begin to appear. However, there are inequalities in the uptake of the screening. For example, South Asian Muslim communities are less likely to participate compared to the White British population what leads to poorer survival outcomes.  

The intervention

To improve screening rates among South Asian Muslim groups, BIMA developed an educational, “faith placed” intervention which is delivered in mosques by trained NHS clinicians who are themselves members of the target community. The talk, delivered in group sessions, is based on a culturally adapted Cancer Research UK presentation and aims to dispel myths, provide motivation and model positive behaviour in relation to screening.

In 2019, the intervention was awarded by the Royal Society for Public Health with a Public Health England Commendation for Reducing Inequalities at Community Level.

Ethical Approval

We applied for NHS ethics approval through the Integrated Research Application System (IRAS). Ethical approval was granted on the 27 October 2021.

About the study

  • Our feasibility study explores how acceptable and accessible the intervention is and what impact it has on screening uptake.
  • Our premise is that culturally adapted interventions within faith institutions may improve participation in cancer screening in people with low uptake.
  • Our data collection sites included selected mosques in Luton and Peterborough as both towns are ethnically diverse, have a significant proportion of Muslim residents, low bowel cancer screening uptake and both feature areas of high deprivation (another factor linked to lower screening participation). 

Project Activity

  • We carried out a two-group non-randomised study using mixed methods. One group received the intervention, i.e. a culturally adapted educational session discussing bowel cancer screening. The other group did not receive a targeted intervention and instead was given standard NHS leaflets with information on bowel cancer screening. We compared screening uptake, and attitudes to screening, between the two groups.
  • We collected data at baseline and at multiple follow-up points using surveys, a focus group, and semi-structured interviews. We also accessed the regional NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Hub records for a 2-year follow-up.
  • We also spoke with two clinicians who delivered the sessions to gather their views on the intervention and its delivery.

Preliminary findings: 'The Evaluation of the British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA) Intervention for Bowel Cancer Screening in Muslim Communities in the East of England'

Next Steps

  • We are in the process of developing potential implementation strategies. We are also looking at ways in which the intervention can be adapted to suit other ethnic and/or religious communities with a low cancer screening uptake.
  • We are awaiting the publication of the final paper outlining the findings. 

Who is involved?

Papers and resources

Contact

If you would like to know more about the study, please contact Daksha Trivedi (d.trivedi@herts.ac.uk).

PEDHSC13