Project Details
Description
This is the second renewal of our Global Mental Health (GMH) Research Fellowship: Interventions that Make a
Difference. GMH implementation science (IS) aims to decrease the vast GMH treatment gap both in low- and
middle-income countries (LMIC), where 75-85% of populations have no access to MH care, and in low-resource
settings of high-income countries (HIC), including the US, where 35-50% have no access to MH care. MH
disorders are the leading causes of global health-related burden across both sexes, the entire lifespan, and world
regions. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has globally increased MH disorder prevalence, worsened the social
determinants of health (SDoH) that drive MH disparities, and disrupted the existing health care system. Multiple
evidence-based interventions (EBIs) that reduce the impact of MH disorders exist; however, because EBI scale-
up has not been a global or US priority, there has been no reduction in global prevalence of MH disorders since
1990. In this renewal, we maintain our goal of training Fellows to use IS to address the challenges of scaling up
prevention and recognition of MH disorders and optimizing access to efficacious MH treatment in low-resource
settings. With its theoretical rigor, methodological innovation, and practical application, our program leverages
extensive facilities at Columbia University, our US and Global partners, and distinguished researchers in the field
to provide training to the next generation of GMH scientists with a 2-fold focus: First, Deployment-focused
intervention research, in which we train Fellows to contextually adapt and develop MH EBI that are ready to be
deployed in resource-poor areas with community collaboration (e.g., patients, relatives, advocates, providers,
administrators, and policy makers) while addressing SDoH driving MH disparities among underserved
populations; Second, Intervention dissemination, implementation, and services scale-up, to address MH
disparities, associated SDoH, and disruptions of the care system. Fellows will learn to examine how MH EBI
can be implemented for sustainable scale-up in low-resource settings in the US and LMICs. With robust
mentorship, hands-on experience (i.e., pilot projects focusing on sustainability), GMH IS didactic instruction, and
training to excel as competitive researchers (e.g., writing scientific papers, competing for grant support), we will
maintain a cohort of 4 Fellows, each with a 3-year appointment, and with new appointments made as Fellows
graduate. The Program now will 1) Promote health equity by identifying mechanisms driving MH disparities and
increasing access to quality MH EBI care among underserved populations; 2) Improve SDoH driving MH
disparities; 3) Improve public MH system preparedness to proactively address pandemics; and 4) Foster
enhanced research collaboration among the next generation of junior investigators from HICs and LMICs. In
addition, we have added an Underrepresented Minority Medical Student (URMMS) Short-Term Summer
Research Fellowship in GMH IS to stimulate a workforce pipeline of greater inclusion and diversity in GMH IS.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 7/1/12 → 7/31/24 |
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health
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