Success Rates for the Objectives of US State Cancer Control Plans: A First Look

BACKGROUND: A well-designed cancer control plan is an important tool for a nation, state, or community to address the burden of cancer. Furthermore, it provides the opportunity to devise and implement measurable objectives. However, there has been little to no assessment of the success rates of such objectives. METHODS: I compared the success rate of objectives between US states’ current plan and most recent past plan to determine the proportion of success in the United States overall. I also tested possible reasons for low success rates. RESULTS: The mean success rate was 20% for stringent successes (only exact matches between plans) and 28% for loose successes (exact and similar matches between plans). The magnitude of change in percentage between the baseline and target for loose objectives significantly predicted success (P = .0347). Higher change resulted in lower success. However, neither the number of objectives nor the level of overlap significantly predicted success rate. Nor was population size, region, or rural–urban status significantly related to success rate. The most successful states had high proportions of objectives that were measurable and a high number of overlapping objectives. CONCLUSION: I found that objective success rates were low for cancer control plans. To improve success rates, I suggest that future cancer control plans ensure each objective has a measurable baseline and realistically attainable target.