RIS ID
109184
Link to publisher version (URL)
Agents of Change: Proceedings of the ANZMAC Annual Conference 2014
Abstract
This paper represents the collaboration between the Cancer Council NSW, Greenacres, the Disability Sector, and the University of Wollongong (UOW) who came together through a UOW Community Engagement Grant (2010) to develop a series of skin cancer prevention resources for mildly intellectually disabled (MID) people. By interviewing 84 MID people from Greenacres, a local employer of people with mild intellectual disabilities, we report on their skin cancer prevention behaviours after our intervention with The Spot Pack, a kit designed to encourage self-examination for skin cancer spots. We found that nearly 20% of the respondents checked themselves for skin cancer spots for the first time as a result of the being given the kit. This project has several implications for both theory and practice when dealing with such vulnerable groups, with the most important being the role of an integrated approach, with tangible resources backed by a structured approach to educating the group.
Publication Details
Kyriazis, E. & Pomering, A. A. (2014). Helping people with mild intellectual disabilities check for skin cancers: an intervention. Agents of Change: Proceedings of the ANZMAC Annual Conference 2014 (pp. 613-618). Brisbane, Australia: ANZMAC.