for improvement. Likewise, for Medicare beneficiaries, evaluate the success of peer review organizations in targeting areas (and providers) for improvement.

• Clarify the effectiveness of screening tests relative to the effectiveness of primary prevention and other clinical or public health interventions in lowering rates of morbidity and mortality. The findings from such research can guide decisions about resource allocation.

The Board aims, with this summary of research priorities, to motivate research sponsors to invest in research that will lead to the identification of interventions that work and dissemination strategies that effect behavioral changes in the population. Essential too are investments in basic research in both cancer biology and behavioral health that can lead to the development of improved methods for cancer prevention and control (IOM, 2001a). The Board concurs with IOM’s Committee on Health and Behavior: Research, Practice and Policy when they concluded in their report, Health and Behavior: The Interplay of Biological, Behavioral, and Societal Influences, that “Most studies, though demonstrating the ability to alter behavior, either do not test, or when tested do not demonstrate, sustained behavior change. These factors present major challenges for the research and application of behavioral interventions and point to the need for long-term studies” (IOM, 2001a, page 334).