Winner
You Need to Know
by akt health & Blonde for North East London Cancer Alliance in partnership with The Eve Appeal
Summary of work
Data showed that women in northeast London had the poorest womb cancer survival rates in the UK and a disproportionate number were of non-White ethnicity. Womb cancer survival is significantly improved when the cancer is caught at an early stage. Women living in northeast London from Black African, Black Caribbean and South Asian backgrounds desperately needed to know the key red-flag symptom of womb cancer: post-menopausal vaginal bleeding.
But engaging these communities with this message was going to be challenging. Poor health literacy, language barriers, cultural taboos, and historic distrust in healthcare services all posed barriers. The North East London Cancer Alliance (NELCA) partnered with the UK’s leading gynaecological charity The Eve Appeal (Eve), drawing on their significant expertise in raising awareness of womb cancer, and engaged communications agency akt health and production agency Blonde. Together, we created the ‘You Need to Know’ campaign to not only reach local Black African, Black Caribbean and South Asian women, but actively engage them with their health and improve long-term womb cancer outcomes in northeast London.
Judges’ comments
Akt Health and the North East London Cancer Alliance produced a strong entry and ambitious local NHS campaign, they also achieved impressive results with its budget. The judges noted that it had a true-to-purpose and forward-thinking approach, which showed a solid effort at implementation, seeking engagement and reaching people. The campaign met a real need, showing true value and importance, while going above and beyond to gain strong outcomes, as well as showing significant intent to gain quality, validated metrics.
