Mental Health CPR: Transforming Cancer Survivors' Mental Health with Community Participatory Reach

Project Summary: Cancer patients and survivors frequently experience multiple factors contributing to unmet psychosocial and mental health needs. Despite these challenges, the study team and community collaborators are committed to addressing these factors through structured, community-based approaches; however, no such multilevel interventions have been established to date. This project is designed to advance psycho-oncology mental health care by targeting elements that limit access to services and contribute to psychological distress, including gaps in screening practices, perceptions related to mental health treatment, and biological mechanisms associated with chronic stress and cancer-related outcomes. The initiative will integrate both community and institutional resources to enhance access to specialized psycho-oncology mental health services and improve identification and management of psychological distress. First, the team will train lay community leaders to serve as community health workers supporting psycho-oncology mental health prevention efforts. Second, the investigators, together with community partners, will develop and adapt a suite of individual and community interventions and service components previously implemented by members of the research team and demonstrated to positively impact cancer patients and survivors. At the community level, the project will deliver training to lay leaders through the PHSU-RCMI Community Training Institute for Health. At the interpersonal level, the intervention will include communication skill-building to strengthen supportive relationships among patients and caregivers. At the individual level, the project will address all phases of mental health support to prevent and manage psychological distress associated with cancer and its treatment. At the biological level, investigators will evaluate the intervention’s impact on psychological stress indicators (cortisol and catecholamine metabolites) and inflammation markers (cytokines and chemokines) relevant to chronic stress and cancer-related outcomes. The project is expected to generate meaningful improvements in psychosocial and mental health outcomes by implementing a comprehensive approach that increases awareness and response to mental health needs.