New breast-screening television commercials to air next month will be aimed at Maori and Pacific women.
On its website, the National Screening Unit says three new commercials, using humour, will be presented, replacing advertisements, which are more than three years old.
Increasing the number of Maori and Pacific women having regular mammograms remained a priority for BreastScreen Aotearoa (BSA).
Although about 70% of women aged 45 to 69 are now being screened, Maori and Pacific women's participation rates are lower, at 61.1 % and 66.4% respectively, the website states.
The recent independent review of BSA by Australian breast-screening monitoring authority Jennifer Muller referred favourably to the Maori and Pacific rates, noting that they were higher than those achieved by Breast Screen Australia for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.
The commercials, which will be first broadcast on February 12, are designed to promote two-yearly screening, emphasise the importance of early cancer detection and encourage men to take some responsibility for the health of women in their lives .
They will also demystify the mammogram process, which had been identified as a "key barrier" to women not being screened.
The advertising was likely to make all women more aware of the need for regular screening, the BSA stated.
