title: Psycho-oncology and primary prevention in cancer control plans: an absent voice?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  One third of cancer deaths are attributable to modifiable lifestyle, behaviour and psychosocial risk factors. Psycho-oncology can contribute significantly to prevention initiatives such as those described in national cancer control plans (NCCPs), to reduce or eliminate these risk factors. However, the extent to which psycho-oncology expertise has informed prevention objectives in plans is unclear.
  
  
  METHODS
  Accordingly, 35 English language NCCPs were located via existing databases and were searched using Adobe text searches ('psycho', 'social', 'behav' and 'intervention') to identify (a) representations of psycho-oncology, its dimensions (psychological, social and behavioural) and roles (e.g. psychologist); and (b) behaviour/lifestyle change interventions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A third of NCCPs included the term psycho- or psychosocial-oncology; approximately half referred to a psycho-oncology dimension regarding prevention and early detection and half included actions/objectives relating to health professionals and provision of psychosocial care. The majority of cancer plans included prevention outcomes and focussed primarily on smoking cessation and alcohol reduction. Interventions commonly proposed were education, regulation and service provision; however, many were aspirational statements of intent rather than specific interventions. Psycho-oncology was represented in NCCPs but was limited in reference to prevention with few behavioural interventions utilised.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Psycho-oncology input is needed to prescribe evidence-based interventions in cancer plans that not only educate, regulate and provide resources but also motivate, empower and create a supportive normative environment for behaviour change. In this manuscript, and throughout this Special Issue on Cancer Prevention, important principles, ideas and evidence within psycho-oncology are outlined which, if properly implemented, can help reduce the global cancer burden. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Council Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.|School of Social Science, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Jimmie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.affiliation: Cancer Council Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.|Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Melissa K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Hyde
authors.affiliation: Pastoral and Psychological Care, Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, Surrey, UK.|Research Department of Clinical, Health and Educational Psychology, University College London, UK.
authors.forename: Maggie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watson