Adapting an educational bowel cancer screening intervention to the needs of South Asian Hindu communities, helping address persistently low uptake and supporting fairer access to early detection.
Why is the research needed?
Bowel cancer screening uptake rates tend to be much lower in individuals of South Asian ethnicity compared to the White British population, while no specific nationwide data on ethnicity and uptake is available, academic studies and some local and regional sources indicate the figure is approximately about half the level seen in people of White British ethnicity. The impact of lower uptake contributes to avoidable inequalities in cancer outcomes faced by ethnically diverse communities. Academic studies indicate that within South Asian communities themselves, there are further variations in uptake depending on religion with Hindus having somewhat higher uptake than Sikhs and Muslims. This indicates a range of factors influencing participation rates, with each subgroup facing a combination of shared and population-specific barriers and facilitators. There is very little research on the specific needs of South Asian Hindus in relation to bowel cancer screening.
Research highlights the value of culturally tailored health interventions as solutions to improve participation rates. In our previous work, we evaluated a culturally adapted, faith-placed educational intervention aimed at South Asian Muslim communities and found evidence it improved awareness, understanding and uptake of screening. We want to adapt this intervention to suit the needs of Hindu communities.
What are we doing?
The main aim of this study is to identify the adaptations needed to tailor an educational intervention for South Asian Hindu communities. We seek to understand the perspectives of both members of the public and clinicians of Hindu heritage, exploring their views, as well as the barriers and facilitators influencing engagement with bowel cancer screening. To achieve this, we will conduct a series of focus group discussions with members of Hindu communities and individual interviews with Hindu clinicians.
This project is linked to our work on “The evaluation of the British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA) intervention for bowel cancer screening in the Muslim community in the East of England”.
How are we working with communities, services and organisations?
We are working in collaboration with One Vision, a Hertfordshire-based charity committed to fostering social cohesion and promoting local wellbeing. As a community partner in this study, they contribute valuable local knowledge and strong links with diverse community groups across the region.
What will the impact and benefits of this research be?
This study will generate evidence on the intervention’s transferability and adaptability for other groups, a priority identified by healthcare stakeholders. It will also help us adapt the intervention for use with another ethnic and faith group, and prepare the ground for a larger future study to evaluate the adapted version.
More broadly, the project is well-aligned with government priorities around shifting care closer to communities, improving prevention, and reducing inequalities in cancer screening uptake. By generating evidence on how to make the intervention more culturally relevant and scalable, the study has the potential to support fairer access to screening and inform future service delivery.
What do we have planned for knowledge mobilisation and implementation?
After the data analysis is complete, we plan to hold a series of participant feedback sessions to share our findings and co-develop potential solutions. We also plan to organise a stakeholder event to disseminate the findings, with the aim of generating feedback, building buy-in, and exploring how the findings might inform practical action and future collaborations.
Related papers, outputs and resources
Related outputs from this study will include a peer-reviewed paper reporting the findings, a co-produced adapted intervention, a summary report/briefing for stakeholders and community partners to be shared at the stakeholder event, a participant-facing feedback summary or lay summary, and conference abstracts and presentations.
Who is involved?
- Principal Investigator: Professor Daksha Trivedi, University of Hertfordshire
- Dr Claire Thompson, University of Hertfordshire
- Reena Masrani, University of Hertfordshire
- Emilia Tylenda, University of Hertfordshire
- Dr Salman Waqar, Imperial College London
- Dr Adam Wagner, University of East Anglia
- Dr Rory Cameron, University of East Anglia
- Dr Jyothika Kumar, Health Innovation East
- Ben Jackson, Health Innovation East
- Enoch Kanagaraj, One Vision
- Priyanka Gandhi, One Vision
- Shivani Gadhia, One Vision
Get in contact
Email Professor Daksha Trivedi or Emilia Tylenda at d.trivedi@herts.ac.uk or e.tylenda@herts.ac.uk.
