Building From the Successes and Ongoing Activities of DCCPS

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The Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, which aligns a vibrant research portfolio across research programs and several cross-cutting themes, has long worked to develop a knowledge base to support epidemiology and genomics, surveillance, behavioral, and health care delivery research. It has also recognized the important cross-cutting themes necessary to reduce the burden of cancer and optimize population health, including health disparities, survivorship, and, as spotlighted here, implementation science.

Each of the four DCCPS programs has strong portfolios, multiple initiatives, and research priorities that generate evidence and effective interventions that implementation science works to integrate into community and clinical systems of care. The Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program, for example, has long supported a series of epidemiologic cohorts and a wealth of studies that have resulted in new insights into etiology and risk based on genetic, environmental, lifestyle, and other influences of cancer. It also contributes to important efforts to improve research methods and measurement of key risk factors. The Surveillance Research Program sets the standard for collecting and analyzing data on the cancer burden among the US population through the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program and leads national and international efforts to use comparative modelling to inform policy and practice decision-making in cancer control. The Behavioral Research Program traverses the landscape, from basic behavioral research that identifies new mechanisms and targets for intervention to studies of subsequent interventions to improve health behavior and health communication. In addition, it supports a full complement of studies on tobacco control, including development of new approaches to cessation, policy, and regulatory science, all with the goal of reducing the burden of cancer due to tobacco use. The Healthcare Delivery Research Program includes multiple initiatives to characterize the access, cost, quality, and outcomes of cancer-related care, and novel interventions to improve the multiple levels (patient, provider, organization, system) through which cancer care is provided.

While these examples are by no means a full representation of the breadth of research supported by DCCPS, they underscore the urgency with which the division regards its ultimate mission—how the research products and findings can optimally benefit population health and reduce the burden of cancer. This is the fuel that drives implementation science.