Perspectives on behavioral and social science research on cancer screening.
The first section in the current article offered several themes that characterize behavioral and social science cancer screening research to date and are likely to be relevant for studying the adoption and utilization of future screening technologies. The themes discussed included the link between epidemiologic surveillance and the priorities of intervention, the "at-risk" perspective that often guides research on screening and initiatives to redress disparities, the need to monitor the diversification of personal screening histories, the range of intervention groups and study designs that can be tested, the importance of including key questions in population-level surveys and national health objectives, and the desirability of clarifying the characteristics of cancer screening that make it an attractive field of study in its own right. The second section commented on emerging areas in which more research will allow additional lessons to be learned. The other articles in the current supplement presented many more lessons in a variety of areas, and other authors are encouraged to write similar articles that help to identify general themes characterizing cancer screening research.
Rakowski
William
W
Department of Community Health and Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. william_rakowski@brown.edu
Breslau
Erica S
ES
D001525:Behavioral Sciences; D035843:Biomedical Research; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012942:Social Sciences