Cancer Screening for People with Serious Mental Illness

With funding support from the Maryland Cigarette Restitution Fund, Johns Hopkins ALACRITY Center researchers characterized rates of cancer screening, and barriers and facilitators to screening, among people with serious mental illness.

Little is known about whether people with serious mental illness receive recommended cancer screenings. In this study, Center researchers measured cancer screening rates in Maryland and nationwide samples of people with serious mental illness. In addition, ALACRITY Center investigators conducted interviews with primary care and mental health providers to learn about their current practices and perceptions of barriers and facilitators to cancer screening.

Investigators 

• Craig Pollack, MD, MHS, Co-Principal Investigator
• Gail Daumit, MD, MHS, Co-Principal Investigator
• Beth McGinty, PhD, MS, Co-Investigator

Publications

• Cancer screening among adults with and without serious mental illness: a mixed methods study (Murphy et al., Med Care, 2021)
• Predictors of cancer screening among Black and White Maryland Medicaid enrollees with serious mental illness (Murphy et al., Psycho‐Oncology, 2021)
• Association Between the Maryland Medicaid Behavioral Health Home Program and Cancer Screening in People With Serious Mental Illness (Murphy et al., Psychiatr Serv., 2020)