A behaviour change communication (BCC) project to strengthen the NP-NCD clinic services in Mizoram and Meghalaya

This is a research project of 3.5 years to develop a Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) strategy that strengthens the Cancer screening component of NCD clinics to screen for Cervical, Breast and Oral cancers in the northeastern Indian states of Mizoram and Meghalaya. As a project on secondary prevention of 3 major cancers, it focuses on behaviour change communication it was divided into 3 key research elements – Operations research (to identify strengths and challenges in the current implementation of cancer screening in NPCDCS/NP-NCD programme); Formative research (to identify the barriers within the system and community); Intervention design (to find probable solutions to the barriers to screening that can be scaled up).

The project was initiated in 2021 with Operations research to find the lacunae in the Screening services delivered in the NCD Clinics operating under the Government of India’s NPCDCS programme. Further to systems evaluation, the focus shifted in 2022 to streamlining NPCDCS services by identifying the barriers to cancer screening at both the community end and the system end of the Government.
Currently, the project is in its final phase, and interventions have been designed awaiting evaluation. These interventions are expected to increase the footfall in the NCD screening clinics. The inclusion of the interventions is expected to improve services across the system, build the capacity of community workers, strengthen referral networks, and raise awareness to mobilise beneficiaries for cancer screening and treatment.

FUNDED by: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Government of India.