Behind Closed Doors
The Behind Closed Doorscampaign, funded by Icap, launched in April 2010 to mark Bowel Cancer Awareness Month.
Campaign aims
The campaign aimed to raise awareness of bowel cancer symptoms and screening amongst the 1.2 million people that visit pharmacies every day in England and Wales, by providing pharmacy staff with key information about the disease.
Tactics
An awareness pack, developed in conjunction with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, was distributed to 12,300 pharmacies in England and Wales.
The pack included:
- Posters
- Leaflets and dispenser
- Practice guidance on bowel cancer symptoms and screening
- Till prompt for pharmacy staff
- Feedback form to evaluate the campaign
An email promoting the campaign was sent to relevant pharmacists, GPs and NHS managers and addition articles about the campaign featured in the pharmacy and regional press at time of launch.
Outcomes
- 12,300 pharmacies in England and Wales received our awareness packs
- Over 400,000 customers picked up symptoms awareness leaflets
- 45 items of media coverage (across radio, online and print), reaching almost 4,250,000 people
- 93% of pharmacists believed our materials boosted their confidence to speak to customers about bowel symptoms, with 85% saying the materials were 'good' or 'excellent'
Impact
- Charity nurse advisory line reported receiving an increase in calls from people who cited they had heard about us from their pharmacist
- The campaign was successful in improving understanding and awareness of bowel cancer amongst almost all pharmacists, and the largest increase in knowledge was reported about bowel cancer screening
- Almost half of pharmacists agreed that leaflets prompted questions from customers
- Over a third of pharmacists suggested that their customers see a GP due to the bowel symptoms they were displaying
