title: The National Cancer Institute's cancer information service: a new generation of service and research to the nation.
abstract: The National Cancer Institute (NCI), the nation's leading agency for cancer information and research, mandated by the U.S. Congress to provide accurate, up-to-date information about cancer to all segments of the U.S. population, established the Cancer Information Service (CIS) on July 1, 1975. Using a two-pronged approach, the telephone information service and education programs for the public and health professionals, the CIS was designed to maximize its reach. In 1982, the CIS implemented three tools: the Call Record Form to record data about each call to the service, a national user survey, and a system of national test calls. These resulted in a rich data source and an infrastructure that allowed collaborative health communications research with the CIS to emerge later in the decade. As the CIS embarks on a new generation of service to the nation, it is now characterized by three vital components that advance the NCI's overall mission of cancer prevention and control: a Partnership Program, Multichannel Contact Centers, and a Health Communications Research Program.
authors.affiliation: Office of Cancer Information Service, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-8322, USA. brightma@mail.nih.gov
authors.forename: Mary Anne
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bright
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003625:Data Collection; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D008495:Medical Oncology; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D012106:Research; D014481:United States