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Can human behavior be modified?
Author(s) -
Griffiths William
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19810301)47:5+<1221::aid-cncr2820471328>3.0.co;2-t
Subject(s) - quackery , medicine , battle , health promotion , cancer prevention , health education , public relations , mass media , face (sociological concept) , promotion (chess) , scientific evidence , health care , medical education , public health , nursing , alternative medicine , cancer , political science , law , sociology , social science , philosophy , archaeology , epistemology , pathology , politics , history
Human behavior is constantly being modified, though not as rapidly or always in the direction that health professionals might wish. In cancer prevention and detection programs, human behavior is modified by several common interrelated methods: the mass media; face‐to‐face communication; risk‐minimization measures; economic forces; and the enactment of laws and regulations. Information and education are the preferred methods and have over a period of time achieved encouraging results. Future emphasis should focus on improving communication skills of health professionals, especially physicians; the promotion of hospital health education programs; and the support of more effective school health education programs. Health professionals have responsibilities for public information and education programs. They should keep the public informed about the latest scientific advances while guarding against oversimplifying scientific facts than can be misinterpreted. They must be aggressive in the battle against cancer quackery, and they must keep abreast of the self‐care and self‐help movements, supporting those that contribute to cancer prevention and detection. Cancer 47:1221–1225, 1981.