Phase II – Strategy and Planning
Step 3 – Establish Priorities
Take Action! Gather Data to Inform Priorities
Focus on priorities informed by the evidence available to you. Depending on your state, you may find that there is a wide range of priorities important to your partners. In some cases, good data may be hard to find, but use the following questions and sources for data to guide your priority setting:
- What does state data say about lung cancer needs and priorities? (Use the data here to help answer this question.)
- What are the priorities of the active lung cancer initiatives in your state?
- What are the gaps or needs that these initiatives aren’t filling or meeting?
- What are the strengths and priorities of your coalition partners?
- What are the health equity priorities that are critical to include?
- What are the existing lung-cancer-related goals and objectives in your state’s cancer plan?
Establish Priorities Worksheet
NLCRT Priorities and Relevant Resources
Consider the existing priorities of the NLCRT listed below. The Resources column lists some tools and resources that can help to inform your chosen priorities.
Priority Area
- Risk Reduction: Smoking cessation, vaping, tobacco treatment, radon testing/mitigation, second-hand smoke
Resources
- American Cancer Society Comprehensive Cancer Control: Understanding Tobacco Cessation Among Cancer Survivors
- American Cancer Society Comprehensive Cancer Control: Tobacco Cessation in Cancer Survivors
- CDC Office on Smoking and Health. Includes state fact sheets and funding information.
- State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System (cdc.gov). Presents current and historical state-level data on tobacco use prevention and control.
- Understanding the Data in Tobacco Cessation in Cancer Survivors: What Cancer Coalitions need to Know. 2019 PowerPoint presentation delivered to Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalitions nationwide.
- Effect of Tobacco Cessation in Cancer Survivors. 2019 PowerPoint presentation delivered to Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalitions nationwide.
- Early Detection/LDCT Screening: Access to services, healthcare provider awareness, public awareness, primary care engagement
- ALA/ATS Lung Cancer Screening Implementation Guide. A pragmatic guide and toolkit of how to design, implement, and conduct a Lung Cancer Screening program based on a survey of experts
- 1-page billing guide. Answers to commonly asked questions about lung cancer screening logistics, program requirements, economics, and billing issues.
- American Lung Association: State Lung Cancer Screening Coverage Toolkit
- Stigma: Towards people at risk or with lung cancer
- American Cancer Society Comprehensive Cancer Control: Stigma in Cancer Survivors with a Smoking History. 2019 PowerPoint presentation delivered to Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalitions nationwide.
- Treatment: Access, biomarker testing, financial toxicity/cost of care
- American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network: Improving Access to Biomarker Testing. A report that explores the current landscape of cancer biomarker testing, describes the challenges that are limiting its adoption and makes recommendations for increasing the uptake of testing and advancing the use of precision medicine in cancer.
- Survivorship
- Overview of approach to lung cancer survivors. An up-to-date subscription is required.
- American Cancer Society Project ECHO: Preparing for Post-Treatment Survivorship. An overview of key topics in the transition to post-treatment survivorship for patients with lung cancer.
- Shared Decision-Making
- American College of CHEST Physicians: Shared Decision Making in Lung Cancer Screening (e-learning)
- American College of Radiology: Shared Decision Making Sample Memo to Providers
- ShouldIScreen.Com A lung cancer decision aid
Tips and Troubleshooting
This section provides insights from coalition leaders on how to overcome common challenges related to establishing priorities.
Common Challenge
- Competing Priorities or Too Many Priorities
Insights
Use a data-driven approach to determine which priorities have the greatest chance of short, intermediate, and long-term success.
Map out the feasibility of each priority and prioritize based on feasibility.
Accept that some partners may not be interested in continuing if their priority is not a focus. Stay in contact! Their organizational priorities and capacity for involvement may change over time.
- Critical data is not available
If enough data does not exist to make an informed decision, consider including a data collection activity in your plan.
- Partners relevant to the priorities are not engaged or cannot dedicate time
Consider the resources available during the selection of program priorities. For example, if no clinicians or patient navigators are currently engaged, a clinical intervention will be difficult to implement.
A Helpful Worksheet
Establish Lung Cancer Priorities Worksheet
This worksheet will help you to define priorities and connect them with supportive evidence and partners who have a similar focus or interest.