title: Communicating cancer control to the public.
abstract: A fifty-year historical review of public communications research, an analysis of factors influencing communication effectiveness, descriptions of fifteen cancer public communication programs, and recommendations for future cancer communications programs are presented. The programs described were specific to five cancer sites, were targeted to six types of audiences and included several types of educational objectives and communication modes. Recommendations include greater use of social science literature and evaluative designs in program planning; cooperative research to provide data suitable for educational diagnosis; and standardization of evaluation results to document effectiveness of techniques and strategies.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control; D003142:Communication / Q000266:history*; D004739:England; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control; D014481:United States; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control