Mental Health Research Agenda Research Articles

Taking forward a holistic research agenda for mental health of people affected by neglected tropical diseases.

Taking forward a holistic research agenda for mental health of people affected by neglected tropical diseases.

Toward a Demand-Driven, Collaborative Data Agenda for Adolescent Mental Health

PurposeExisting datasets and research in the field of adolescent mental health do not always meet the needs of practitioners, policymakers, and program implementers, particularly in the context of vulnerable populations. Here, we introduce a collaborative, demand-driven methodology for the development of a strategic adolescent mental health research agenda. Ultimately, this agenda aims to guide future data sharing and collection efforts that meet the most pressing data needs of key stakeholders. MethodsWe conducted a rapid literature search to summarize common themes in adolescent mental health research into a “topic map”. We then hosted two virtual workshops with a range of international experts to discuss the topic map and identify shared priorities for future collaboration and research. ResultsOur topic map identifies 10 major themes in adolescent mental health, organized into system-level, community-level, and individual-level categories. The engagement of cross-sectoral experts resulted in the validation of the mapping exercise, critical insights for refining the topic map, and a collaborative list of priorities for future research. DiscussionThis innovative agile methodology enables a focused deliberation with diverse stakeholders and can serve as the starting point for data generation and collaboration practices, both in the field of adolescent mental health and other topics.

The Uneven Stress of Social Change: Disruptions, Disparities, and Mental Health

As the COVID-19 pandemic underscores, disparities in stress exposure, vulnerability, and protective resources are often magnified in times of rapid change. I argue that Leonard Pearlin’s integration of life course and stress process frameworks constitutes a useful model for advancing a research agenda on the stressors and corollary mental health impacts of the social disruptions and dislocations defining life in the early twenty-first century. Social changes interrupt life paths and produce potentially stressful circumstances at particular time points in biographies already defined, shaped, and constrained at the intersections of race, class, nativity, age, and gender. Critical for both science and policy development is a mental health research agenda on the nature and consequences of the uneven stresses of social changes as they play out at different life course stages in disparate ways depending on people’s intersecting social locations.

Is everyone invited to the discussion table? A bibliometric analysis COVID-19-related mental health literature.

The COVID-19 pandemic has captured the mental health discussion worldwide. Examining countries' representation in this discussion could prove instrumental in identifying potential gaps in terms of ensuring a truly global conversation in times of global crisis. We collected mental health and COVID-19-related journal articles published in PubMed in 2020. We focused on the corresponding authors' countries of affiliation to explore countries' representation. We also examined these articles' academic impact and correlations with their corresponding authors' countries of affiliation. Additional journals and countries' indicators were collected from the Web of Science and World Bank websites, respectively. Data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics and the VOSviewer software. In total, 3492 publications were analyzed. Based on the corresponding author, high-income countries produced 61.9% of these publications. Corresponding authors from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East combined accounted for 11.8% of the publications. Europe hosted corresponding authors with the most publications and citations, and corresponding authors from North America had the largest mean journal impact factor. The global scientific discussion during the COVID-19 pandemic saw an increased contribution of academics from developing countries. However, authors from high-income countries have continued to shape this discussion. It is imperative to ensure the active participation of low- and middle-income countries in setting up the global mental health research agenda, particularly in situations of global crisis, such as the ongoing pandemic.

Building a research agenda for mental health assessments in resolving legal dilemmas on adolescent sexual consent.

The dilemma of adolescent consent confounds dispensation of justice in child sexual abuse and juvenile justice contexts, with legal personnel struggling to discern between consent and coercion in cases of adolescents who are sexually abused and those who are accused of alleged sexual offences. Given that capacities for consent also determine personal safety and mental health, there is an imperative to build a child mental health research agenda for developing methodologies that incorporate psychological knowledge on abuse dynamics, adolescent mental health and development, vulnerability and risk, to assess adolescent sexual consent and sexual decision-making processes.

Developing a mental health research agenda for football referees

ABSTRACT The mental health of football referees at amateur and elite levels has received very little research attention, with the majority of mental health research focused on players. Unfortunately, such a shallow research pool has resulted in a deficit of knowledge which prevents not only the understanding of mental health symptoms and disorders in this population but also the creation of evidence-based interventions. As such, the purpose of this commentary is twofold: 1) to outline the importance of why an epidemiological understanding of mental health symptoms and disorders amongst referees is necessary and desperately needed and 2) to discuss how such epidemiological research can be used to design, deliver, evaluate and disseminate evidence-based mental health interventions to football referees. We provide an overview of the behavioural epidemiology framework and how it may be used to guide and execute future research and intervention endeavours.

Moving beyond a 'one-size-fits-all' rationale in global mental health: prospects of a precision psychology paradigm.

Research on the effectiveness of mental health and psychosocial support interventions for common mental disorders in global mental health provides controversial results. These results are based on mean values for different groups, often without due consideration of individual-level characteristics and contextual factors. Against this background, and based on the recent development of a precision theoretical framework in clinical psychology, which is calling for a renewed perspective on the development and implementation of trial designs, we propose to develop a precision psychology paradigm in global mental health, with emphasis not only on individual clinical and socio-demographic data, but also on the social determinants of mental health. A precision psychology paradigm would require a coordinated action of academics, stakeholders and humanitarian workers in planning a global mental health research agenda, including the design of trials aimed at reliably approximate prediction of intervention response at individual level.

The COVID-19 Pandemic: Setting the Mental Health Research Agenda

The COVID-19 Pandemic: Setting the Mental Health Research Agenda

Can we implement the new research agenda for mental health?

Children and young people with rheumatic diseases face considerable challenges to their mental health, yet the research guiding prevention and intervention strategies is limited. A new research agenda provides an important step forward by highlighting important issues, but can these research priorities be addressed within the paediatric rheumatology health-care context?

The development of a national nutrition and mental health research agenda with comparison of priorities among diverse stakeholders.

To develop a national nutrition and mental health research agenda based on the engagement of diverse stakeholders and to assess research priorities by stakeholder groups. A staged, integrated and participatory initiative was implemented to structure a national nutrition and mental health research agenda that included: (i) national stakeholder consultations to prioritize research questions; (ii) a workshop involving national representatives from research, policy and practice to further define priorities; (iii) triangulation of data to formulate the agenda; and (iv) test hypotheses about stakeholder influences on decision making. Canada. Diverse stakeholders including researchers, academics, administrators, service providers, policy makers, practitioners, non-profit, industry and funding agency representatives, front-line workers, individuals with lived experience of a mental health condition and those who provide care for them. This first-of-its-kind research priority-setting initiative showed points of agreement among diverse stakeholders (n 899) on research priorities aimed at service provision; however, respondents with lived experience of a mental health condition (themselves or a family member) placed emphasis on prevention and mental health promotion-based research. The final integrated agenda identified four research priorities, including programmes and services, service provider roles, the determinants of health and knowledge translation and exchange. These research priorities aim to identify effective models of care, enhance collaboration, inform policy makers and foster knowledge dissemination. Since a predictor of research uptake is the involvement of relevant stakeholders, a sustained and deliberate effort must continue to engage collaboration that will lead to the optimization of nutrition and mental health-related outcomes.

Defining Research Priorities for Nutrition and Mental Health: Insights from Dietetics Practice.

In 2014, a national initiative aimed at defining a research agenda for nutrition and mental health among diverse stakeholders was completed and included insights from more than 300 registered dietitians. This study explores the data from dietitians based on their years of practice, mental health experiences, and community of practice in relationship to identified mental health and nutrition research priorities. Analysis of numerical data (n = 299) and content analysis of open-ended responses (n = 269) revealed that respondents desired research for specific mental health conditions (MHCs), emotional eating, food addiction, populations with special needs, and people encountering major life transitions (e.g., recovery from abuse, refugees). Findings from the quantitative and textual data suggested that dietitians want research aimed at addressing the concerns of those in the community, fostering consumer nutrition knowledge and skill acquisition, and developing services that will impact quality of life. Subgroup analysis indicated that dietitians: (i) in early years of practice want information about specific MHCs; (ii) living in smaller towns and rural areas want data about the cost benefits of dietetics practice in mental health; and (iii) who also had additional stakeholder roles (e.g., service provider) selected priorities that address gaps in mental health services. This study highlights opportunities to tailor nutrition and mental health research that advance dietetics practice.

Can we co-produce reality, normality, and a world that has meaning for all?

This paper draws on the feature articles in this special edition to explore the concepts of reality and normality and how they influence, and are influenced by, social conceptions and psychiatric classifications of and research on ‘mental illness’/madness. It then considers the emergence and development of ‘service user involvement’ in research and co-production, and appraises the impact these have had on mental health research agenda. Particular attention is given to the impact of personal experience both as a source of research data and as a factor that affects the nature of such involvement in research; and how certain types of personal experience are privileged or face disadvantage in the research world. The paper explores co-production both in its current limited application in research and its potential to challenge existing research paradigms, identifies the obstacles to fulfilling this potential, and offers some ways these could be overcome.

Global research challenges and opportunities for mental health and substance-use disorders.

The research agenda for global mental health and substance-use disorders has been largely driven by the exigencies of high health burdens and associated unmet needs in low- and middle-income countries. Implementation research focused on context-driven adaptation and innovation in service delivery has begun to yield promising results that are improving the quality of, and access to, care in low-resource settings. Importantly, these efforts have also resulted in the development and augmentation of local, in-country research capacities. Given the complex interplay between mental health and substance-use disorders, medical conditions, and biological and social vulnerabilities, a revitalized research agenda must encompass both local variation and global commonalities in the impact of adversities, multi-morbidities and their consequences across the life course. We recommend priorities for research – as well as guiding principles for context-driven, intersectoral, integrative approaches – that will advance knowledge and answer the most pressing local and global mental health questions and needs, while also promoting a health equity agenda and extending the quality, reach and impact of scientific enquiry.

Mental health research: developing priorities and promoting its utilization to inform policies and services.

Investment in research on the prevention and treatment of mental health disorders is disproportionately low in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) relative to the disease burden. Scaling-up mental health research in the EMR could generate enormous returns in terms of reducing disability, improving outcomes and preventing premature death, through early diagnosis, better management and community-based rehabilitation. EMR countries must therefore work to identify research priorities, mobilize resources, develop human and infrastructure capacities and institutionalize use of research findings to guide development of policies and service delivery models. Several key strategic interventions for EMR Member States are recommended: adopt a prioritized national mental health research agenda; systematically map national and international research funding to identify and secure resources to support the implementation of the agenda; strengthen national capacity to undertake prioritized research; periodically map research output in mental health; and foster dialogue between researchers and policy-makers/programme managers.

Mental health research in the Syrian humanitarian crisis.

Mental health research in the Syrian humanitarian crisis.

ROAMER: roadmap for mental health research in Europe.

Despite the high impact of mental disorders in society, European mental health research is at a critical situation with a relatively low level of funding, and few advances been achieved during the last decade. The development of coordinated research policies and integrated research networks in mental health is lagging behind other disciplines in Europe, resulting in lower degree of cooperation and scientific impact. To reduce more efficiently the burden of mental disorders in Europe, a concerted new research agenda is necessary. The ROAMER (Roadmap for Mental Health Research in Europe) project, funded under the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme, aims to develop a comprehensive and integrated mental health research agenda within the perspective of the European Union (EU) Horizon 2020 programme, with a translational goal, covering basic, clinical and public health research. ROAMER covers six major domains: infrastructures and capacity building, biomedicine, psychological research and treatments, social and economic issues, public health and well-being. Within each of them, state-of-the-art and strength, weakness and gap analyses were conducted before building consensus on future research priorities. The process is inclusive and participatory, incorporating a wide diversity of European expert researchers as well as the views of service users, carers, professionals and policy and funding institutions.

A Collaborative Mental Health Research Agenda in a Community of Poor and Underserved Latinos

The goal of this project was to engage community members and grassroots organizations in a discussion regarding perceived mental health needs and priorities of the population of underserved Latinos in Montgomery County, Maryland. Community-based participatory research was used to establish structures for participation and to design studies that effectively address local mental health needs. Four focus groups with 30 Latino lay health promoters and 20 key informant interviews were conducted to ascertain communal mental health needs and priorities. The main issues that emerged included mental health stigma, consequences of immigration-related stress, violence and alcoholism, and concerns about psychotropic medications. Ideas to address these issues and foster wellness through research were generated during a community-based workshop that included consumers, primary care and mental health clinicians, researchers, and representatives of local organizations and federal agencies. The product of this process was an implementable mental health research agenda, which is presented and discussed.

Research in lower middle income countries – recommendations for a national mental health research agenda in South Africa

In the current mental health environment in South Africa, the development of a relevant mental health research agenda poses several challenges. This paper provides a brief overview of the current state of published research in mental health and, using a translation research framework, makes recommendations for five strategic directions to be considered in the development of a national mental health research agenda.

The roads less traveled: Mapping some pathways on the global mental health research roadmap

The global mental health (GMH) research agenda should include both culture-general and culture-specific perspectives to ensure ecological validity of findings. Despite its title, the current GMH research agenda appears to be using a monocultural model that is individualistic, illness-oriented, and focused on intrapsychic processes. Ironically, issues of culture are prominently absent in many discussions of global mental health. This paper highlights some issues and concerns considered key to conducting ecologically valid and socially responsible GMH research. The concerns are particularly directed at researchers from dominant cultures who are working in low-income countries. Central to these issues is the balance between etic and emic perspectives in assessment, diagnosis, and intervention, as well as language, engagement of stakeholders and their agendas, and evaluation of the benefit of interventions to the community. New terminology is proposed that identifies broad cultural groups, and recommendations provided for a research agenda to encourage both basic and applied research that mutually benefits all stakeholders in the GMH research endeavor.

Key priorities, challenges and opportunities to advance an integrated mental health and education research agenda

A critical priority for the fields of education and mental health is to develop an integrated research agenda to advance empirical and practical progress towards the goal of reducing a significant research to practice gap. This study presents qualitative findings from an intensive dialogue meeting held with a multidisciplinary sample of 35 leaders in education, children's mental health and related fields. Comprehensive data from the meeting by three independent notetakers were analysed and integrated to fully capture the discussion of research priorities for education and mental health. Synthesized content represented the three categories of key priorities, challenges and opportunities towards an integrated mental health and education research agenda. Themes identified by qualitative analysis of the notes, as well as suggestions, current progress and future directions for reducing the research-to-practice gap, are described.