Educational programs in cancer prevention and detection: determining content and quality.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To provide an overview of available programs and to present recommendations for important components of a cancer prevention and detection educational and training experience.

DATA SOURCES

Research, journal articles, Internet resources.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Variations in the efforts to provide basic, advanced, and continuing medical education exist across healthcare disciplines. These variations suggest that differences in interest and in the perceptions of the most urgent cancer control issues may exist across disciplines.

CONCLUSION

Nursing should increase its involvement in the development and testing of quality cancer prevention and detection programs that provide a multidisciplinary approach without losing the important nursing perspective.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

The integration of this information may be helpful in enhancing nursing efforts to develop greater expertise in cancer control and may facilitate a multidisciplinary approach to cancer prevention and detection that includes essential nursing perspectives.