SurviGals Screening is a health communications campaign that leverages social support to encourage women aged 25 to 34 years old to go for regular cervical cancer screening (CCS). Cervical cancer is highly preventable but remains the tenth most common cancer among Singaporean women. It is the first local cervical cancer campaign that leveraged the idea of social support by going for cervical cancer screening together with one’s close friends and family members.

The campaign adopted a three-pronged approach — Educate, Show and Motivate — that was aimed at urging women to go for cervical cancer screening with someone they trust.

 

The Highlights

SurviGals Screening ran from December 2019 to March 2020 and both offline and online tactics were used in the campaign. For online outreach, the campaign leveraged on social media reach their audience, creating a personality quiz on Instagram stories let participants find out what kind of friend they were in their friend group. Named “Which friend are you?”, the answers aimed to encourage the participants to go for CCS screenings together.

SurviGals Screening also used film to answer the most searched questions on Google about cervical cancer. ‘Time to Un-private Your Most Searched Questions’ was based on the popular WIRED Autocomplete Interviews and featured two medical experts and a cervical cancer survivor answering myths and fears from their own experiences and expertise. Watch the video below.

Offline, SurviGals Screening collaborated with eight local craft artists, like WhereBilly and Lithops Studio, to design products, such as earrings and clay figurines, in support of the fight against cervical cancer. These products were sold on the artists’ social media platforms and websites. Each product that the artist sold was accompanied by a brochure and card to remind them about the importance of going for regular cervical cancer screening.

In addition, the campaign worked towards getting participants to join in the activities directly through roving booths. Letters to My Future Self and Letters to Family and Friends were held at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Anchorpoint Shopping Mall and encouraged participants to write a postcard either to themselves, which would be mailed to them three or five years later, or to their friends and family members. Men were also encouraged to write postcards to encourage the women around them to go for cervical cancer screening. This activity encouraged women to imagine their life in the future while reminding them to go for their next cervical cancer screening in three or five years. Having a physical postcard also serves to be more tangible as a reminder amid digital clutter. 

The campaign was effective in reaching out to the wider female community in Singapore as many key opinion leaders were engaged. Each key opinion leader tailored the message to share with their audience, making it more effective than past campaigns on cervical cancer screening that were more prescriptive. Many women were encouraged to share their personal cervical cancer stories after seeing these key opinion leaders’ posts. SurviGals Screening served as a catalyst where women were inspired to share stories of their brush with cervical cancer, the importance of going for cervical cancer screening and ultimately fostering more open conversations about women’s health.

The Memories

Products designed by eight local craft artists, like WhereBilly and Lithops Studio, in support of the fight against cervical cancer.
Postcards encouraging women to imagine their life in the future while reminding them to go for their next cervical cancer screening.
Writing a letter to a female family member to encourage her to go for cervical cancer screening.
Learning more about cervical cancer screenings at the campaign’s roving booths.
Enjoying refreshments and participate in fun craft activities with their friends and family members while waiting to get screened.

Reflection #1 – The Challenges

Issues Due to COVID-19.

The team was unable to carry out all roving booths and other campaign events, such as the SurviGals Screening Tea Parties, due to the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) being raised to Orange. To reduce physical contact, the campaign incorporated more online activities on social media to engage their target audience. Furthermore, due to the extensive press coverage on the COVID-19 situation during the campaign period, it was a challenge to secure media coverage.

Lack of publicly available data.

The team was unable to access the latest data of the national screening rates for pap tests and had to use the 2018 data. Also, as the human papillomavirus (HPV) test was only introduced as a primary screening test in Singapore last year, the team did not have a benchmark of the national screening rates for HPV test to guide their research.

Reflection #2 – The Takeaways

The team felt the campaign was able to successfully impact behavioral change and encourage women to go for Cervical Cancer Screening. 702 women booked their cervical cancer screening appointment at the Singapore Cancer Society Clinic through the campaign.

The team also reflected that certain parts of the campaign could have been improved. They found that offline activities were more effective as there was more participation at the roving booths than online activities and most women booked their appointments through the campaign at the booths. In addition, they recommended that future cervical cancer-related campaigns should partner with the Ministry of Health from the beginning, so they would be able to access the latest data of the national screening rates and select an appropriate target audience, as well as collaborate with clinics to offer more convenience to those booking their screening with the campaign.