Naslov
Setting investment priorities for research in global mental health

Autori
Tomlinson, Mark ; Rudan, Igor ; Saxena, Shekhar ; Swartz, Leslie ; Tsai, Alexander C. ; Patel, Vikram

Izvornik
Bulletin of the World Health Organization (0042-9686) 87 (2009), 6; 438-446

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
priority setting; health research; mental health

Sažetak
Mental health disorders are a major contributor to the burden of disease in all regions of the world. The objective of this paper is to address investment priorities in mental health research at the global level and to propose more rational use of scarce funds in addressing this largely under-resourced and under-investigated area. Members of the Lancet Mental Health Group were invited to systematically list and score research investment options on four mental disorders – (i) schizophrenia and other major psychotic disorders ; (ii) major depressive disorder and other common mental disorders ; (iii) alcohol abuse and other substance abuse disorders ; and (iv) child and adolescent mental disorders. They applied the priority setting methodology of the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) to list a larger number of research investment options and evaluate them using a set of five criteria: answerability, effectiveness, deliverability, equity and potential impact on persisting burden. Scores were then weighted according to the system of values expressed by a larger group of stakeholders. Research investment options that achieved the highest overall score were all related to health policy and systems research or epidemiological research on either child and adolescent mental disorders or those pertaining to alcohol and drug abuse questions. Lowest scores were given to research options that proposed the development of new interventions and technologies, new drugs, vaccines or pharmacological agents. This exercise demonstrated that in a context of global mental health, where the significant improvements in mental health are expected from research investments within a short time frame of the next ten years, investments are best placed into health policy and systems research and epidemiological research that should fill the critical gaps in knowledge and suggest where and how to deliver the existing cost-effective interventions.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Temeljne medicinske znanosti, Kliničke medicinske znanosti, Javno zdravstvo i zdravstvena zaštita

POVEZANOST RADA