About Efficiency of Prevention Campaigns to Fight Cancer

About efficiency of prevention campaigns to fight cancer

My paper is based on statistical data concerning mortality rates caused by cancer in France, focusing on social categories, age and risk behaviors groups and on a two-month immersion in an oncology and palliative care department. A complementary qualitative study about prevention was conducted with nursing students.

Over the last ten years, French public authorities have implemented prevention campaigns in order to reduce risk behaviors (2007 Act) and fight cancer (Cancer Plans, since 2003). In order to reach the entire population, innovative campaigns were not only broadcast on television through advertisements but also on the packaging of food, tobacco and alcoholic products. Perception of these new health messages were positive, however, risk behaviors have not decreased. Regrettably it has been shown that this type of campaign approach has been ineffective since the tobacco usage has increased from 2005 to 2010.

According to the results of many investigations, members of the lower social classes and the elderly are more affected by cancer, yet these people have been found to be less concerned with these prevention campaigns. Impression may be they "choose" not to follow the guidelines proposed by public authorities. That shows the importance of social classes, age and sexes determinism (Bourdieu 1979, Bihr and Pfefferkorn 2008). The few changes in risk behaviors are less the product of individual choice, but rather the result of constraints such as health problems, obesity, etc.

One might then think of new types of “prevention campaigns” with egalitarian goals, which would not be limited only to simple quotes such as "stop smoking" or "eat fruit and vegetables", but whose purpose could be to promote "self-care" and to develop agency of people. This means to act on both economic and cultural dimensions of the concerned groups.