Communicating cancer control to the public

Area of Science:

• Public Health Communication
• Health Behavior Change
• Social Marketing

Background:

• A comprehensive review of fifty years of public communications research provides context.
• Analysis of factors influencing the effectiveness of health communication is crucial.
• Understanding past cancer public communication programs is essential for future planning.

Observation:

• Fifteen cancer public communication programs across five cancer sites were described.
• Programs targeted six distinct audience types with varied educational objectives and communication modes.
• The review synthesizes historical data on cancer communication interventions.

Findings:

• Effective cancer communication integrates social science principles and robust evaluative designs.
• Cooperative research is needed to generate data for educational diagnosis.
• Standardized evaluation methodologies are vital for documenting communication strategy effectiveness.

Implications:

• Future cancer communication programs should leverage social science literature for planning.
• Implementing cooperative research can improve the diagnostic utility of communication data.
• Standardizing evaluation metrics will enhance the evidence base for public health communication techniques.