Objectives
This study aimed to contrast Colombian stakeholders’ perceptions of the appropriateness, acceptability and feasibility of a code against cancer for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Methods
This qualitative study used semistructured interviews and focus groups. Three stakeholder categories were considered: primary care physicians, decision-makers and program managers, and participants from the general population. Data collection followed the four domains of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (i.e. inner settings, outer settings, intervention and participants’ characteristics). Thematic areas included knowledge about cancer prevention, clarity of the proposed code and the appropriateness of recommendations.
Results
Seventy participants were recruited (14 decision-makers and program managers, 16 primary care physicians, 40 members of the public). A code was considered suitable for cancer prevention; however, decisionmakers, program managers and primary care physicians did not see it as a priority or as significantly more valuable than existing alternatives. The primary care physicians had clear ideas about a code’s recommendations for cancer prevention, but the general public associated certain recommendations with healthy lifestyles rather than with cancer prevention. Although participants had a hypercritical perspective about a Latin American code, they perceived it as a useful tool for policy development and for guiding preventive services and self-care. Regarding feasibility, participants perceived they would be able to implement and adopt a code (i.e. high self-efficacy) and considered that it would be straightforward to use (i.e. a tool with low complexity), and they forecasted strong commitment among institutions to implementing it.
Conclusions
A code against cancer was perceived as an appropriate, acceptable and feasible tool for cancer prevention that would be compatible with Colombia’s policy and health system environments. However, no urgent need for its implementation was discerned, and stakeholders’ opinions on relative priorities varied. Thus, careful design of implementation strategies will be key to successful cancer prevention.