title: Public education and cancer control.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To provide an overview of public education efforts in tobacco, obesity, environmental health, and cancer screening.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cochrane, AHRQ, the CDC's Guide to Community Preventive Services, and other reviews.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Major changes in rates of smoking and cancer screening attest to the effectiveness of public education efforts. Diet and physical activity have more resistant behaviors. Communication technologies offer possibilities for connecting people with the education they need.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurses can play important roles in public education by helping to overcome people's misperceptions and biases related to cancer. There also may be an important role for nurses as information brokers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. brimer@email.unc.edu
authors.forename: Barbara K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Rimer
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gierisch
mesh_terms: D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000451:nursing; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011634:Public Health; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D000074606:Smoking Prevention