Monday, May 19, 2025
5/19/2025
Cancer Prevention and Control in Maine - The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), an agency of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, is applying for the U.S. CDC’s Cancer Prevention and Control Programs for State, Territorial, and Tribal Organizations CDC-RFA-DP22-2202. Cancer is the leading cause of death in Maine and in 2018, Maine was ranked 13th as the state with the most cancer deaths. Maine experiences many challenges in meeting health goals due to its large geographic area, rurality, and aging and low-income populations. The Maine CDC is submitting applications for the three priority areas: Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection; Comprehensive Cancer Control, and the Program of Cancer Registries. Within the Maine CDC each of the three priority areas is covered by a departmental program: 1. the Maine Breast and Cervical Health Program (MBCHP); 2. the Maine Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (MCCCP); and 3. the Maine Cancer Registry (MCR). These programs work together closely toward a common goal and a shared purpose to reduce cancer deaths in Maine. MBCHP will engage stakeholders to understand community needs and barriers relating to breast and cervical cancer screening, implement evidence-based strategies, and reduce structural barriers to screening within health systems. MBCHP aims to increase breast and cervical cancer screening, including early detection and timely referral for treatment for all women in Maine, especially those experiencing health disparities. This aligns with four goals from the Maine Cancer Plan 2021-2025. Additionally, the following disparate communities will be prioritized: women with physical, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, foreign-born women / women of immigrant parents, and women who are currently or have been incarcerated. MCCCP will integrate comprehensive cancer prevention and control efforts within Maine. MCCCP will collaborate with the MBCHP, MCR, the statewide cancer coalition, and other relevant partners to integrate and coordinate the implementation of the Maine Cancer Plan. MCCCP aims to reduce the overall cancer burden in Maine leading to a decrease in cancer incidence and mortality. This will be achieved by implementing evidence-based interventions focusing on reducing cancer-risk factors; increasing preventive services and healthy lifestyle behaviors; increasing early detection of cancers; improving quality of life among cancer survivors; and decreasing health disparities. Maine aims to achieve increased utilization of Maine cancer analytics for program planning, implementation, and evaluation. Additional outcomes include increased awareness and knowledge of cancer prevention; increased use of evidence-based strategies to increase healthy living; improve access to clinical preventive services; increase the use of evidence-based cancer screening recommendations; improve health and wellness of cancer survivors; and improve health outcomes in disparate populations. MCR’s purpose is three-fold: maintain a high quality, complete, and timely population-based cancer surveillance system for Maine and share data with national partners; ensure that data are used, analyzed, and disseminated to relevant stakeholders to understand the burden of cancer in Maine, including identifying relevant disparities in cancer incidence and mortality; and provide data to assist cancer prevention and control efforts led by MBCHP and MCCCP, as well as the state cancer coalition and the Maine Cancer Plan. The outcomes will include timely, complete, high-quality data submitted annually, increased electronic reporting from non-hospital facilities to improve timeliness and completeness of MCR data, increased capacity, flexibility, and utility of MCR infrastructure to meet new data needs, expanded collaboration among MCR, chronic disease, and other public health programs and increased dissemination and use of MCR data through multiple avenues.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).