A co-production study of an art-based media campaign intervention to encourage early breast cancer screening uptake among Black women in England

Sep 23, 2026

Breast cancer affects women globally, but Black women in the United Kingdom experience disproportionate burden, including later presentation and higher mortality linked to insufficient early screening uptake. This study co-produced an art-based media campaign intervention with 15 Black women from Northern England to address a stated gap in culturally responsive approaches. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, focus groups (N=10) and interviews (N=5) yielded themes spanning uncertainty, fear, empowerment through communication, animated content, and embedding awareness in everyday digital spaces.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Method

Findings

Main themes

Conclusion

Introduction

TYPE Original Research PUBLISHED 03 September 2026 DOI 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1875785 OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Abdulhammed Opeyemi Babatunde, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States REVIEWED BY Sidhant Ochani, Ziauddin University, Pakistan Hatice Bulut, Suleyman Demirel University, Türkiye *CORRESPONDENCE Tarela Juliet Ike [tarela.ike@manchester.ac.uk](tarela.ike@manchester.ac.uk) RECEIVED 08 May 2026 REVISED 17 August 2026 ACCEPTED 21 August 2026 PUBLISHED 03 September 2026 CITATION Ike TJ, Jidong DE, Ike ML, Ayobi EE, Ike PR, Adebowale OF, Rooks G and Husain N (2026) A co-production study of an art-based media campaign intervention to encourage early breast cancer screening uptake among Black women in England. Front. Public Health 14:1875785 . doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1875785 COPYRIGHT © 2026 Ike, Jidong, Ike, Ayobi, Ike, Adebowale, Rooks and Husain. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. A co-production study of an art-based media campaign intervention to encourage early breast cancer screening uptake among Black women in England Tarela Juliet Ike 1 , 2*, Dung Ezekiel Jidong3, Mieyebi Lawrence Ike4, Evangelyn Ebi Ayobi 5, Peremi Richmond Ike 6, Oluwakorede Florence Adebowale7, Gabriella Rooks 5 and Nusrat Husain 8,9 1Division of Psychology and Mental Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom, 2School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Law, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom, 3Division of Psychology and Mental Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom, 4Western Governors University, Millcreek, UT, United States, 5Manchester Global Foundation, Manchester, United Kingdom, 6Beryl Foundation, London, United Kingdom, 7Moonrise 24 Hrs Recruitment, Stockton-on-Tees, United Kingdom, 8Division of Psychology and Mental Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom, 9Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, Prescot, United Kingdom Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers that affects women globally. Of central concern are Black women in the United Kingdom who are disproportionately affected, present late and suffer higher mortality due to poor early screening uptake. Informed by an interpretative phenomenological analytical lens, this study makes an original and significant contribution to address the gap by working with 15 Black women from the north of England to co-produce an art-based media campaign intervention designed to encourage early breast cancer screening uptake. Method: N = 10 participants took part in a focus group discussion, while N = 5 took part in individual interviews. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings: The following main themes emerged: (i) Uncertainty underpinned by poor awareness,(ii) Fear of the unknown,(iii) From fear to action: Empowermentfocused breast screening communication,(iv) Animated content,(v) Embedding awareness in women’s everyday digital spaces, and (vi) Empowerment through coproduction, inclusive voice and agency. Conclusion: The study has important policy implications, including the need for co-designed interventions to foster uptake, and it also recommends testing the co-produced intervention to determine its feasibility, effectiveness, and costeffectiveness in encouraging early screening uptake among this marginalized population. KEYWORDS Black women, breast cancer, early screening uptake, England, United Kingdom Frontiers in Public Health 01 [frontiersin.org](frontiersin.org) Introduction Breas

FAQs

Why does the study focus on Black women in England?

The study highlights that Black women in the UK are more severely affected, often present late, and face higher mortality risk due to poor early screening uptake.

How was the co-produced art-based media campaign intervention developed and studied?

Fifteen Black women from Northern England co-produced the intervention. The study used interpretative phenomenological analysis on data from one focus group (N=10) and interviews (N=5).

What main themes emerged from participants’ responses?

Themes included uncertainty from poor awareness, fear of the unknown, empowerment-focused communication, animated content, embedding awareness in everyday digital spaces, and empowerment through coproduction, inclusive voice, and agency.

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by MrHarris58