An evaluation of an education programme, for prevention and early diagnosis of malignancy in Israel.

A community-wide health education programme for the prevention and early detection of cancer was performed in the Krayot municipalities, north of Haifa, Israel, during the years 1985-86. In order to assess its effectiveness, an evaluation programme was conducted. The knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of women who had been exposed to the education programme and of a control group, were compared before the programme started and 2.5 years later, after it ended. The programme was conducted in five clinics and included changes in the functioning of the clinics and their teams to be used in the interaction with the insured women. A piloted questionnaire was used to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of these women. Emphasis was placed on smoking, sun tanning, self-examination of breast and other aspects of possible early detection of cancer. The education programme was ineffective not only with regard to behaviour but also in relation to knowledge on the relationship between health behaviour and cancer. The need for the establishment of more effective means for health education is eminent. If health education programmes are to succeed, we must understand what motivates or prevents compliance with recommended health behaviour.