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. 2008 Aug;35(2 Suppl):S141-50.
doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.05.006.

The social determinants of cancer: a challenge for transdisciplinary science

Robert A Hiatt  1 , Nancy Breen
Affiliations

The social determinants of cancer: a challenge for transdisciplinary science

Robert A Hiatt et al. Am J Prev Med. 2008 Aug.

Abstract

To make further significant advances in cancer control research, a transdisciplinary science approach is needed that integrates the study of the biological nature of cancer and its clinical applications with the behavioral and social influences on cancer. More-effective interventions to reduce the burden of cancer can be developed and implemented by the adoption of a transdisciplinary research framework that takes into account the social determinants of cancer and seeks to discover interactions among social, environmental, behavioral, and biological factors in cancer etiology. This paper addresses two critical issues in the science of team science: (1) a cross-disciplinary, multilevel framework for organizing future research, and (2) a perspective that could aid in the translation and dissemination of cancer research findings in health care and public health practice. This conceptual framework is designed to encourage transdisciplinary research that will integrate social determinants into cancer research. The authors' goal is to promote a more complete understanding of the causes of cancer that will lead to the improved translation and implementation of the results of research.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Social determinants of cancer. Framework illustrates how social determinants relate to other levels of analysis and types of interventions along the cancer continuum. Healthcare systems are less likely to influence cancer incidence than mortality and are lightly shaded in the preclinical phase of the continuum.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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