Public Health Efforts to Address Mental Health Conditions Among Cancer Survivors

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) examines mental health indicators and trends, conducts surveillance of mental health concerns, and supports programs to address the mental health needs of men, women, and children (www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/ learn/index.htm). The Healthy People 2020 objectives (www. healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives/topic/mental-healthand-mental-disorders) and National Prevention Strategy (www.hhs.gov/sites/default/ files/ disease-prevention-wellnessreport.pdf) offer examples of public health objectives that can improve mental health through prevention by ensuring access to appropriate, quality mental health services. The CDC routinely publishes findings from population- and state-based surveys, including the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the National Health Interview Survey, and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. These data sets are used to provide information on state-specific and national benchmarks for cancer prevention and early detection, describe the health status ofcancer survivors (i.e., those who have received a cancer diagnosis), examine quality of life, and estimate the cost of cancer care. Details of these data sets are available at www.cdc.gov/cancer/survivors/ what_cdc_is_doing/index.html.The CDC also supports research and partners with government and nongovernment organizations to examine mental health research topics, which include (1) psychosocial barriers and facilitators to cancer clinical trial enrollment; (2) surveillance of mental health disorders, psychosocial concerns, risk factors, and service utilization among cancer survivors by cancer type; (3) health care costs related to mental health conditions among cancer survivors; (4) health care provider knowledge and practice-based behavior regarding distress management of cancer survivors; and (5) cancer prevention services at community mental health centers.