The Daffodil Centre’s Dr Rachael Dodd has been awarded a grant from the International Lung Cancer Foundation to develop resources to support informed choice for a potential National Lung Cancer Screening Program in Australia.
Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer death worldwide, with the majority of affected Australians diagnosed with late-stage disease. Recent estimates suggest that by 2025, over 15,000 Australian men and women will be diagnosed with lung cancer annually.
Lung cancer screening could save thousands of Australian lives by detecting lung cancer early, when treatment is more effective. A national targeted lung cancer screening program would involve identifying individuals at high-risk for lung cancer from the general population.
Evidence on the feasibility and effectiveness of lung cancer screening is strengthening, and implementation of a National Lung Cancer Screening Program targeted at those at high-risk could be imminent. To support implementation, more information is needed on how best to support the target population to make informed decisions about participating in screening.
The highly competitive Young Investigator Grant Dr Dodd has been awarded will enable her to build on evidence from other countries leading the way with lung cancer screening programs to create resources to support implementation of a national screening program in Australia. Through a series of community workshops and qualitative interviews, Dr Dodd will engage with key communities and stakeholders to design decision support tools to promote informed choice.
This research will lay the foundation for implementing interventions that raise awareness of the benefits and harms of screening in people at high risk, enabling rapid translation into practice.
More on the Daffodil Centre’s lung cancer screening research.
