Surveillance
April 2012 marks the beginning of the Partnership’s second five-year mandate and the next phase of implementing Canada’s national cancer strategy. The priorities and initiatives for the next five years are outlined in our 2012-2017 strategic plan, Sustaining Action Toward a Shared Vision. Our website will soon be updated to reflect the activities supporting the strategic plan. The information below reflects the priorities and accomplishments of our work between 2007 and 2012.
Supporting best practices with data
Cancer surveillance refers to the monitoring of cancer trends over time at the population level and considers health determinants such as where a person lives, their behaviour and lifestyle choices. Trends may include information on frequency and type of cancer, severity and the extent to which the disease has spread at first diagnosis. Cancer surveillance also considers the impact that these trends can have on the health-care system and provides the ability to evaluate whether implemented programs are having the desired effect.
The number and type of new cancer cases — and where in Canada they occur — are examples of surveillance data. Requiring collection and interpretation of standardized, accurate, high-quality information, surveillance supports the effective planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of cancer control.
The Partnership is supporting implementation of several pan-Canadian surveillance programs that aim to identify and fill information gaps, enhance the quality of data sources and widen access to and uptake of analytic methods and information products.
Initiatives
The Partnership is leading four initiatives to facilitate a co-ordinated cancer surveillance system that will boost cohesive action in prevention, screening, health-care delivery and health policy in Canada.
