PROGRAM FOR SERVICES RESEARCH ON SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS

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Indiana University, in collaboration with the Indiana State Division of Mental Health and Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis, proposes to build a research infrastructure program focusing on mental health services for the severely mentally ill. The aim, consistent with the P.A.L. initiative, is to link a diverse group of academic, practitioner and public-sector researchers in a collaborative program to improve, enrich and expand the total research effort directed to significant parts of the research agenda outlined in NIMH's Caring for People with Severe Mental Disorders: A National Plan to Improve Services. Specific goals include 1) integrating the current service research efforts of a group of young but senior researchers, 2) developing the interests and potential of a promising group of junior researchers, and 3) tying both of these groups more directly into the larger network of mental health researchers and research efforts. Two key mechanisms are proposed to accomplish these aims. The first mechanism is to organize core participants into substantively based research work groups to develop and expand a set of separate but related research projects focusing on the interface of community and treatment systems. The four major subthemes to be developed are the following: the long-term community careers of the severely mentally ill; the interface of legal and treatment systems; community treatment models; and accessing/creating community-based, longitudinal data sets. The second mechanism involves a set of intensive training and research workshops for the core participants to be held during eight weekends each year. These intensive weekends will bring important, mature mental health service researchers to Indiana University to keep core participants informed on cutting edge issues. Core participants will be apprised of state-of-the- art methods, measures and analytic techniques in related areas of mental health services research. Outside consultants will be introduced to core research projects, and will begin active and direct consultation on current and planned projects. Four additional efforts supplement these main mechanisms: l) information and funds to increase participation of core faculty in significant national activities; 2) early dissemination and timely publication of march findings through a preprint series: 3) feasibility, pilot and continuation studies through provision of such resources as seed money, research staff and local consultants; and, 4) links with other related academic and public organizations.