Professor Tarun Weeramanthri and epidmiologists, Jennifer Girschik and Laura Miller with the Cancer Control in WA Report
As nations around the globe prepare to mark World Cancer Day (4 February) a new report by the Department of Health highlights opportunities to boost community knowledge about cancer prevention.
Priorities and Preferences for Cancer Control in Western Australia, produced by the Public Health Division, has found that while respondents to a State-wide survey on cancer prevention were knowledgeable about many aspects of cancer, a third were unaware that much could be done to prevent the disease.
Chief Health Officer Professor Tarun Weeramanthri says the findings will help the Health Department more strategically plan and deliver community education about cancer prevention.
Acting on what we have learned from the survey, we are already engaging with our health promotion partners to achieve higher screening participation rates and strengthen community education on risk factors relating to certain aspects of diet and alcohol consumption.
This project has charted new territory for the Public Health Division, according to Professor Weeramanthri.
This is the first time we have asked the community for feedback in a Chief Health Officer’s report and the first time we have used an online forum to gather community opinion on cancer prevention.
To view the report and related information, visit Healthy WA (external site).