A community led initiative to provide safe and empowering breast screen experiences for First Nations women has been launched.
West Gippsland Healthcare Group recently partnered with Breast Screen Victoria and Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) to launch the Beautiful Shawl Project.
The purpose of the shawl was to increase the cultural safety and comfort of Indigenous women participating in breast screening, and subsequently increase breast screening participation rates of Aboriginal women.
WGHG director of allied and community health Audra Fenton said 10 women were screened by Breast Screen Victoria at the recent launch event and used the new shawl.
"We held a cancer screening day in September last year and on this day, a number of community members who attended were unsure how to access the service. This initiated discussion from Elders about having a shawl for our Kurnai community," she said.
"We reached out to VACCHO and Breast Screen Victoria and the project was born.
"After some community consultation, we received two designs for our Beautiful Shawl Project from local artist Eileen Harrison and Lynette (Grace) Hayes. The inaugural design went to Eileen.
Of the people who attended the launch and took part in the free screening session, the majority were first-time screeners with most of them aged in their 40s. A number were aged in their 60s and 70s and had never been screened before.