Contributions of social medicine and systems analysis to formulating objectives for a community-based cancer...

In the part of Stockholm Cancer Prevention Programme, that is focussing on diet and cancer, the contribution of social medicine has been based on its concern for the relationships between individuals, populations, the environment and the socio-political structure. This has led to the choice of the community intervention approach, based on geographically defined populations, and involving the participation of organisations already active within the relevant areas. The contribution of systems analysis has been based on its concern for explicit models of the processes of cause and effect that lead from intervention to outcome, as a basis for debate and common understanding among the various participants. The combination of the two approaches has helped to clarify the objectives and has shaped the planned pattern of intervention.