+Intestino
A public health awareness campaign in the UK (On The Move) and Mainland Europe to improve the understanding of colorectal cancer and the importance of screening in Black, African Caribbean and South Asian communities and – in the longer term - the South Asian population. The project’s previous working title was ‘On the Move’.
The Challenge
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Early detection of cancers makes a dramatic difference to the patient’s chances of survival. 90% of patients, for example, make a full and rapid recovery if colorectal cancer is detected in its early stages. Only 14% of patients with a late, stage 4 diagnosis survive longer than 5 years. Yet, recent research shows that Black African and African Caribbean adults are statistically less likely to be aware of the key risk factors, of the warning signs and of the availability of CRC screening than white adults.
Our Solution
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GHP launched this project to confront a major health inequality: the low uptake of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening within UK and Black communities across Europe.
Building on highly successful initiatives in the US and South Wales, the programme brings mobile education and screening units directly into communities—removing barriers of fear, mistrust, and inaccessibility that often prevent engagement with
traditional health services. With support from the SYNLAB Foundation and Boehringer Ingelheim, the first pilot,
+Intestino (“intestine” in Portuguese), was delivered in four Portuguese locations in September 2023. Additional pilots in the UK and Belgium are currently being planned, pending funding.
The long-term goal is to establish a robust, evidence-based model for CRC screening and education that can be adopted across the UK, Europe, and eventually in regions worldwide where screening rates remain low.
The Portugal pilot was a major success, demonstrating—clearly and decisively—that face-to-face, community-based engagement works. (Results are presented in the accompanying slide deck).
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Our thanks to our funders and partners Synlab Foundation, Boeringer Ingleheim and Merck.
Achievements
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Conducting focus group research among Black communities, community leaders and influencers.
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Established our Expert Advisory Board.
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Identifying KPIs for Epidemiology & Public Health.
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Establishing practical partnerships with
relevant cultural leaders and groups within
project countries.
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Working with funding partners to establish a set of measures and targets for the campaign.
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Planning, managing and promoting a practical and scalable series of mobile screening and education events, including a robust process for supporting participants with positive test results.
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Click on the PDF icon, to read our project summary:
That's a Wrap!
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Watch the video below to see our mobile units in action.
Our partner, Europacolon Portugal, filmed this video at one of the screening events in Lisbon, Portugal.
