Health Professionals
- The Cancer Society and Cancer Control in New Zealand
- The Mission Statement of the Cancer Society
- The Vision of the Society
- The Principles of the Society
- The 2006 Cancer Society Strategic Plan
- The National Health Promotion Committee (NHPC)
- Cancer Society of New Zealand Position Statements
The Focus of Health Promotion Action for the Cancer Society of New Zealand
Cancer is a major cause of disease, disability and death in New Zealand with 18,610 new registrations and 7970 deaths recorded in 2005 (Ministry of Health 2008). Although cancer is unlikely to be eradicated, its impact on the community can be lessened through an organised approach to reducing the number of people who develop or die from cancer, and improving the quality of life for those who develop the disease. Towards this end the Cancer Society of New Zealand (CSNZ) utilises the New Zealand Cancer Control Strategy (Ministry of Health 2003) and the New Zealand Cancer Control Action Plan 2006-2010 (Ministry of Health 2006) which lists six goals and intended outcomes/results for each goal.
The six goals are:
Goal 1: Reduce the incidence of cancer through primary prevention.
Goal 2: To ensure effective screening and early detection to reduce cancer incidence and mortality.
Goal 3: Ensure effective diagnose and treatment of cancer to reduce morbidity and mortality.
Goal 4: Improve the quality of life for those with cancer, their family and whanau through support, rehabilitation and palliative care.
Goal 5: Improve the delivery of services across the continuum of cancer control, through effective planning, co-ordination and integration of resources and activity, monitoring and evaluation.
Goal 6: To improve the effectiveness of cancer control in New Zealand through research and surveillance. (MoH 2006).
The Cancer Society works with the Ministry of Health, District Health Boards (DHBs), Primary Health Organisations (PHOs), the Cancer Control Council and relevant NGOs on specific programmes and services to reduce the incidence and impact of cancer in New Zealand. The Cancer Control Council is responsible for monitoring the Cancer Control goals.
The Mission Statement of the Cancer Society is "Improving community well-being by reducing the incidence and impact of cancer through the provision of, health promotion, support services information and research".
The Vision of the Society is to be the leading organisation dedicated to reducing the incidence of cancer and ensuring the best cancer care for everyone in New Zealand.
The Principles of the Society are Equity, An independent professional voice, Co-operation and collaboration, Evidence based best practice and, Responsiveness. The Values of the Society are: Integrity, Respect and Excellence.
The 2006 Cancer Society Strategic Plan sets the direction for the Society at a national level and action plans for each work area inform annual operating plans. Each of the six Divisions: Auckland/Northland; Waikato/Bay of Plenty; Central, Wellington; Canterbury/West Coast; and, Otago/Southland, also develop action and operating plans to support activity that is aligned to the agreed national direction and is appropriate to their local needs, population, context and resources.
The National Health Promotion Committee (NHPC) is an advisory and policy forming body for the National Board of the Cancer Society of New Zealand. NHPC members have expertise in the areas of health promotion, social and behavioural research, cancer epidemiology, cancer screening and early detection, cancer treatment, primary health, public health, Maori health and nutrition. One of the responsibilities of the NHPC is to identify priorities for Cancer Society health promotion, through the approval of the National Action Plan for Health Promotion.
