Cancer control planning and establishment of priorities for intervention by a state health department.

A number of data sources routinely available to State health departments were analyzed as part of a State health department cancer control planning effort. This planning effort consisted of seven steps; the most challenging one was the establishment of priorities for cancer control interventions. Using data from available sources, however, a framework for prioritizing potential cancer control interventions as well as choosing a geographic area in which to implement selected interventions was developed. Factors considered in this framework for setting intervention priorities included the magnitude of the problem; the existence of scientific consensus regarding the efficacy of intervention techniques; the availability of data needed to plan, implement, and evaluate an intervention; the availability of resources within communities to implement an intervention; and the existence of public demand for the intervention. The development and use of this cancer control planning model and framework for setting cancer control intervention priorities in New York State are described in this paper. In using this planning model and framework for setting priorities, quantitative elements were found to be most necessary to define problems, but qualitative elements were most crucial for decision making.