title: Setting a health policy research agenda for controlling cancer burden in Korea.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of study was to provide suggestions for prioritizing research in effort to reduce cancer burden in Korea based on a comprehensive analysis of cancer burden and Delphi consensus among cancer experts.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty research plans covering 10 topics were selected based on an assessment of the literature, and e-mail surveys were analyzed using a two-round modified Delphi method. Thirty-four out of 79 experts were selected from four organizations to participate in round one, and 21 experts among them had completed round two. Each item had two questions; one regarding the agreement of the topic as a priority item to reduce cancer burden, and the other about the importance of the item on a nine-point scale. A consensus was defined to be an average lower coefficient of variation with less than 30% in importance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seven plans that satisfied the three criteria were selected as priority research plans for reducing cancer burden. These plans are "research into advanced clinical guidelines for thyroid cancer given the current issue with over-diagnosis," "research into smoking management plans through price and non-price cigarette policy initiatives," "research into ways to measure the quality of cancer care," "research on policy development to expand hospice care," "research into the spread and management of Helicobacter pylori," "research on palliative care in a clinical setting," and "research into alternative mammography methods to increase the accuracy of breast cancer screenings."
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The seven plans identified in this study should be prioritized to reduce the burden of cancer in Korea. We suggest that policy makers and administrators study and invest significant effort in these plans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-In
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyoung-Hee
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sun Jung
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kwang-Sig
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Eun-Cheol
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Park
keywords: Agenda; Cancer burden; Delphi technique; Early detection of cancer; Helicobacter pylori; Hospices; Priority; Research plan; Thyroid neoplasms