Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2023

Cancer Support for People of Refugee Background (CSPRBB) is a collaborative project between Bendigo Community Health Services, Loddon Mallee Integrated Cancer Service, and the Bendigo Regional Cancer Centre. This 2-year project funded by the Victorian Department of Health is working with local Karen and Afghan communities and service providers to identify enablers, barriers, and myths surrounding cancer and cancer care, system issues and refugee sensitive practice.

Bendigo is the second largest regional settlement site in Victoria. Estimated refugee populations – 3500 Karen, 300 Afghan. Humanitarian arrivals come to a new environment with limited knowledge of and access to preventative and primary care, limited health, service, and digital literacy, having experienced decades of deprivation.

Throughout the settlement process, barriers to screening without culturally safe supports, limited capacity in symptom recognition and reporting, late diagnosis, refusal of treatment and palliative supports are evident. Anecdotal evidence shows these communities are underserved in cancer care. Pre settlement experiences create high risk, and limited protective factors in cancer prevention, detection, and treatment.

Aim

CSPRBB aims to improve health equity across the cancer continuum by supporting former refugees to better understand cancer prevention, screening, early intervention, treatment, and optimal care pathways that are culturally safe and easily understood.

Approach

• Refine evidence of underrepresentation in screening/cancer care: community and service provider focus groups, surveys:

Project needs analysis is informing interventions to build community health and service literacy, work with cancer experts to co-design culturally appropriate resources/ education sessions, and support system change to enable easier access to screening, cancer treatment and optimal care pathways.

• Develop and pilot a cancer navigation model for former refugees experiencing cancer.

Preliminary findings: needs analysis has revealed fear, mythical beliefs, mistrust in western treatments/ clinicians, and confirmed literacy limitations. Scanning of translated information and emerging system barriers have revealed areas for improvement. These findings will be presented.