Mental Health and Chronic Disease Expert Workgroup

Expert workgroups on mental health/mental illness (MH/MI) and chronic disease were convened in April 2008, 2009, and 2010 as part of preliminary strategic planning. The expert workgroup assisted in the development and evaluation of the plan regarding MH/MI programs in public health, identified research gaps, proposed new activities in the field, and identified action priorities.

The strategic plan outlines four key areas for advancing public health regarding mental health/mental illness at CDC:

• Routinely monitor burden of mental illness and factors associated with mental illness and mental health through surveillance and epidemiologic research related to chronic disease;
• Incorporate mental illness prevention and mental health promotion research and evaluation across all chronic disease programs;
• Maximize mental health and reduce mental illness by addressing personal, cultural, and structural barriers to care; and
• Disseminate and translate information on the importance of mental illness prevention and mental health promotion related to chronic disease to a broad audience of stakeholders.

In addition to the strategic plan, another product/outcome of the expert workgroup was the collaboration on manuscripts for a Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) Mental Health Theme Issue which was published in early 2010.