Overcoming the deficiency of refugee mental health research

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Kalfic ◽  
Glenn Mitchell ◽  
Lezanne Ooi ◽  
Sibylle Schwab ◽  
Natalie Matosin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Scientific Discovery ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Psychiatric Research ◽  
Risk And Resilience ◽  
Refugee Mental Health ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers

The growing number of refugees and asylum seekers are one of the most significant global challenges of this generation. We are currently witnessing the highest level of displacement in history, with over 65 million displaced people in the world. Refugees and asylum seekers are at higher risk to develop mental illness due to their trauma and chronic stress exposures, and particularly post-migration stressors. Yet global and Australian psychiatric research in this area is greatly lacking, particularly with respect to our understanding of the molecular underpinnings of risk and resilience to mental illness in traumatised populations. In this Viewpoint, we explore the reasons behind the lack of refugee mental health research and use this context to propose new ways forward. We believe that scientific discovery performed with a multidisciplinary approach will provide the broad evidence-base required to improve refugee mental health. This will also allow us to work towards the removal of damaging policies that prolong and potentiate mental health deterioration among refugees and asylum seekers, which impacts not only on the individuals but also host countries’ social, economic and healthcare systems.

scholarly journals Refugees, the asylum system and mental healthcare in Ireland

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly O'Connell ◽  
Richard Duffy ◽  
Niall Crumlish
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Current Health ◽  
Refugee Mental Health ◽  
Service Policy ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers

The number of people seeking refugee status in Ireland is increasing year on year and the burden of mental illness experienced by refugees and asylum seekers is high. The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland has recommended the establishment of a number of specialist refugee mental health teams. In this paper we discuss the Irish asylum system, the Irish evidence regarding mental illness in this population, and current health service policy regarding refugee mental health. We propose a model of specialist refugee mental healthcare delivery.

scholarly journals A Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) Primer for Mental Health Researchers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher C Conway ◽  
Miriam K. Forbes ◽  
Susan Carol South
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Psychological Disorders ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Research Paradigm ◽  
Research Programs ◽  
Advance Research ◽  
Research Questions

Mental health research is at an important crossroads as the field seeks more reliable and valid phenotypes to study. Dimensional approaches to quantifying mental illness operate outside the confines of traditional categorical diagnoses, and they are gaining traction as a way to advance research on the causes and consequences of mental illness. The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) is a leading dimensional research paradigm that synthesizes decades of investigation into evidence-based dimensions of psychological disorders. This article aims to make the application of dimensional approaches in mental health research more accessible through tutorials that demonstrate how to use the HiTOP model to formulate and test research questions. Data and annotated code (written for R and Mplus software programs) for each example are included (https://osf.io/8myzw). We outline how investigators can use these ideas and tools to generate new insights in their own substantive research programs.

scholarly journals Pharmaceutical industry, academia and people with experience of mental illness as partners in research: a need for ethical guidance

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 196
Author(s):  
Sapfo Lignou ◽  
Ilina Singh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Research Institutions ◽  
Research Partnerships ◽  
Moral Framework ◽  
Ethical Guidance

Background: Several social and policy developments have led to research partnerships in mental health research, which depart from traditional research models. One form of such partnerships is among research institutions, industry (pharmaceutical and biotech) and people with lived experience of mental illness (RIPs). There are several benefits but also ethical challenges in RIPs. An ethics-based approach to anticipating and addressing such ethical issues in mental health research is lacking. Given the expansion of RIPs in treatment development for mental health illness, guidance to support ethical and trustworthy collaborative mental health research projects is essential. Methods: To develop a moral framework for evaluating the ethics of RIPs, we systematically searched PubMed for peer-reviewed literature discussing good practices in research partnerships. Searches were also conducted in websites of known organizations supporting patient engagement with industry in mental health research and in the references of short-listed articles. Following application of exclusion criteria, remaining articles were critically examined and summarised to synthesise principles for ethically acceptable RIPs and inform clear guidance and practices. Results: Critical analysis and synthesis of the short-listed articles highlighted the need for two sets of principles to guide ethical RIPs: principles for (a) RIPs as a trustworthy enterprise (e.g. public accountability, transparency) and (b) fair RIPs (e.g. effective governance, respect). We discuss the application of these principles in problem-solving strategies that can support best practice in establishing fair and successful mental health research partnerships among research institutions, industry and people with lived experience of mental illness. Conclusions: Ethical guidance is needed to prevent and address challenges in RIPs and to promote the scientific and social benefits of these new research partnership models in mental health research. We show how the proposed moral framework can guide research partners in designing, sustaining and assessing ethical and trustworthy collaborative mental health research projects.

Correctional Mental Health Research and Program Evaluation

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Wolff
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Psychosocial Treatment ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Health Treatment ◽  
Correctional Mental Health

Research in mental health issues in prisoner populations essentially stopped in the mid 1970’s. It is now re-emerging as a critical component of improving mental health care and helping toward recovery for the incarcerated mentally ill. Mental illness, ranging from acute anxiety to schizophrenia, is endemic within prisons and jails. Unlike their free world counterparts, however, incarcerated people have a constitutional right to mental health treatment. Yet, despite the need for and right to mental health treatment, remarkably little reliable and valid evidence is available on the nature and level of mental illness among incarcerated people, the effects of incarceration on symptomatology, the availability and quality of medication, cognitive, and psychosocial treatment for disorders, and how context impacts the effectiveness of the treatment that is available. Evidence is absent because corrections-based research is constrained by regulation, financing, and inexperience. In this chapter, the history of prisoner research and the evolution of federal regulations to protect prisoners as human subjects will be reviewed and then discussed in terms of how regulation has impacted correctional mental health research, after first defining what is meant by research and why research is needed to inform policy and practice decisions. This will be followed by recommendations for building the correctional mental health research evidence base. The intent here is to help researchers, in collaboration with stakeholders, develop, design, and implement research studies, and disseminate evidence to advance science and the quality of care available to incarcerated people with mental illnesses within the current regulatory environment.

scholarly journals The Social Determinants of Refugee Mental Health in the Post-Migration Context: A Critical Review

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 297-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Hynie
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Refugee Mental Health ◽  
Migration Trauma ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers ◽  
The Impact

With the global increase in the number of refugees and asylum seekers, mental health professionals have become more aware of the need to understand and respond to the mental health needs of forced migrants. This critical review summarizes the findings of recent systematic reviews and primary research on the impact of post-migration conditions on mental disorders and PTSD among refugees and asylum seekers. Historically, the focus of mental health research and interventions with these populations has been on the impact of pre-migration trauma. Pre-migration trauma does predict mental disorders and PTSD, but the post-migration context can be an equally powerful determinant of mental health. Moreover, post-migration factors may moderate the ability of refugees to recover from pre-migration trauma. The importance of post-migration stressors to refugee mental health suggests the need for therapeutic interventions with psychosocial elements that address the broader conditions of refugee and asylum seekers’ lives. However, there are few studies of multimodal interventions with refugees, and even fewer with control conditions that allow for conclusions about their effectiveness. These findings are interpreted using a social determinants of health framework that connects the risk and protective factors in the material and social conditions of refugees’ post-migration lives to broader social, economic and political factors.

Expert by Experience Involvement in Mental Health Research: Developing a Wellbeing Brochure for People with Lived Experiences of Mental Illness

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-200
Author(s):  
Amy Tapsell ◽  
Kellie M. Martin ◽  
Lorna Moxham ◽  
Shawn Burns ◽  
Dana Perlman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Mental Health Research

scholarly journals Psychiatric research platform within SAIL - Linkage of prospectively ascertained phenotypically rich and genetic data to routinely collected anonymised records.

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna McGregor ◽  
Ann John ◽  
Keith Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Genetic Data ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Response To Treatment ◽  
Psychiatric Research ◽  
Illness Onset ◽  
Polygenic Scores

ABSTRACT ObjectivesWe have conducted a feasibility study linking clinically rich survey data to routine data to create a platform for psychosis research in Wales: K Lloyd et al (2015), A national population-based e-cohort of people with psychosis (PsyCymru) linking prospectively ascertained phenotypically rich and genetic data to routinely collected records: overview, recruitment and linkage, Schizophrenia Research. Now we expand upon this through the linkage of large clinically rich cohorts with a range of mental health diagnoses along with genetic data to conduct validation exercises, develop novel methodologies, assess genetic and environment interactions and outcomes and address hypothesis-driven research questions. ApproachThrough collaborations between the Farr Institute, Cardiff University based MRC centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics and the National Centre for Mental Health (NCMH) clinically rich data and genetic (CNVs, SNPs & polygenic scores) data from around 6000+ participants recruited from a variety of mental health research studies including ‘PsyCymru’, ‘Genetic susceptibility to cognitive deficits study and NCMH amongst others will be loaded and linked to the datasets within SAIL. The analysis plan would firstly include validation exercises to compare the data between sources. Methodologies would be developed using this data to determine illness onset, relapse, chronicity, severity and response to treatment applied to large population-based mental health e-cohorts. ResultsBy pooling together health service data, genetic variants, environmental and lifestyle factors, phenotypic and endo-phenotypic (cognitive scores) along with the ability to ascertain temporal relationships afforded by the longitudinal perspective available in SAIL we may be able to evaluate potential risk factors, assess the complex GxE interactions that lead to disease progression, and assess outcomes such as prognosis, remission, relapse and premature mortality. The on-going routine updates provide us with the opportunity to follow-up these individuals across multiple health care settings in a cost effective and in-obtrusive manner and to carry out health services utilization/benefit and treatment surveillance in a naturalistic setting. This resource will continue to expand over the coming years in size, breadth and depth of data, with continued recruitment and additional measures planned. ConclusionTo advance mental health research by developing our understanding of the causes, course and outcomes of mental illness that may lead to the development of better diagnostic classification, predictive, preventative strategies and therapeutic approaches.

scholarly journals A Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) Primer for Mental Health Researchers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher C Conway ◽  
Miriam K. Forbes ◽  
Susan Carol South
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Psychological Disorders ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Research Paradigm ◽  
Research Programs ◽  
Advance Research ◽  
Research Questions

Mental health research is at an important crossroads as the field seeks more reliable and valid phenotypes to study. Dimensional approaches to quantifying mental illness operate outside the confines of traditional categorical diagnoses, and they are gaining traction as a way to advance research on the causes and consequences of mental illness. The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) is a leading dimensional research paradigm that synthesizes decades of investigation into evidence-based dimensions of psychological disorders. This article aims to make the application of dimensional approaches in mental health research more accessible through tutorials that demonstrate how to use the HiTOP model to formulate and test research questions. Data and annotated code (written for R and Mplus software programs) for each example are included (https://osf.io/8myzw). We outline how investigators can use these ideas and tools to generate new insights in their own substantive research programs.

scholarly journals Pharmaceutical industry, academia and people with experience of mental illness as partners in research: a need for ethical guidance

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 196
Author(s):  
Sapfo Lignou ◽  
Ilina Singh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Research Institutions ◽  
Research Partnerships ◽  
Moral Framework ◽  
Ethical Guidance

Background: Several social and policy developments have led to research partnerships in mental health research, which depart from traditional research models. One form of such partnerships is among Research institutions, Industry (pharmaceutical and biotech) and People with lived experience of mental illness (RIPs) in the NIHR services. There are several benefits but also challenges in such partnerships. An ethics-based approach to anticipating and addressing such problems is lacking. Given the expansion of RIPs in treatment development for mental health illness, guidance to support ethical and effective collaborations in NIHR-funded mental health research is essential. Methods: To develop a moral framework for evaluating the ethics of RIPs, we systematically searched PubMed for peer-reviewed literature discussing good practices in research partnerships. Searches were also conducted in websites of known organizations supporting patient engagement with industry in mental health research and in the references of short-listed articles. Following application of exclusion criteria, remaining articles were critically examined and summarised to synthesise principles for ethical RIPs and inform clear guidance and practices. Results: Critical analysis and synthesis of the short-listed articles highlighted the need for two sets of principles to guide ethical RIPs: principles for (a) RIPs as a trustworthy enterprise and (b) fair RIPs. We discuss the application of these principles in problem-solving strategies that can support best practice in establishing fair and effective research partnerships among research institutions, industry and people with lived experience of mental illness in the NIHR services. Conclusions: Ethical guidance is needed to prevent and address challenges in RIPs and to promote the scientific and social benefits of these new research partnership models in mental health research in the NIHR services. We show how the proposed moral framework can guide research partners in designing, sustaining and assessing ethical and effective mental health research collaborations.

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