Mental health Sessions at IHEA 4th World Congress

描述(由申请者提供)：国际卫生经济学协会(IHEA)正在寻求资助，以便在即将到来的第四届世界精神卫生大会(2003年6月15-18日，旧金山)上举行一次小组会议，两位或更多的受邀演讲者，以及一次关于精神卫生经济学领域主题的陈述/讨论/联网早餐。每两年举行一次的IHEA大会是世界上最大的致力于健康问题的经济学家和经济学研究人员会议。大会吸引了IHEA 3000多名成员中的大多数人参加为期四天的全体会议、小组讨论、研讨会和海报会议。(IHEA的组织目标包括增加沟通，培养更高标准的专业辩论，传递信息，并促进卫生经济学家之间的合作。)第四届世界大会的题目是《全球卫生经济学：研究与改革的桥梁》。在前三届大会(约克、英国、鹿特丹和温哥华)中，精神健康问题一直是一个越来越受关注的问题，因此今年的大会组织者将其选为大会的一个主要主题，大会将围绕这一主题组织多场会议。在这一主题范围内，目前正在计划就以下主题举行有组织的会议：全世界精神卫生平等；痴呆症治疗长期护理政策的国际比较；以及其他。资金将用于举办一届专门讨论精神健康问题的会议，并将关于这一专题的发言“纳入”其他会议的主流(有些属于大会关于精神健康障碍和药物滥用经济学的主题，另一些则侧重于保健经济学的方法论问题)。大会的参与者将来自60多个国家，代表着知名研究人员和其他职业生涯较早的人的混合。不是所有的与会者都是学院派经济学家；也会有相当数量的来自其他学科的与会者，包括对金融和经济学感兴趣的医学研究人员。拟议拨款的一个目的是扩大和加强从事精神健康工作的研究人员群体，方法是设立几个关于这些主题的会议，并将精神健康问题纳入关于其他主题的小组讨论。另一个目的是为这些研究人员提供相互联系的机会。大会由两个由领先的卫生经济学家组成的委员会组织，他们将设计会议并挑选大会演讲者。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The International Health Economics Association (IHEA) is seeking funding for one panel session, two or more invited speakers, and a presentation/discussion/networking breakfast, on subjects within the field of economics of mental health, at its upcoming 4th World Congress (June 15-18, 2003, in San Francisco). The biennial IHEA Congress is the largest meeting of economists and economics researchers working on health issues in the world. The Congress attracts a majority of IHEA's 3000+ members for four days of plenary sessions, panel discussions, workshops and poster sessions. (IHEA's organizational objectives include increasing communication, fostering a higher standard of professional debate, transferring information, and promoting collegiality among health economists.) The title for the 4th World Congress is Global Health Economics: Bridging Research and Reforms. The subject of mental health has been an increasing focus within the previous three Congresses (in York, England, Rotterdam, and Vancouver), hence its selection by this year's Congress organizers as a major theme for the Congress, around which multiple sessions will be organized. Within this theme, organized sessions are currently being planned on topics including mental health parity worldwide; international comparison of long-term care policy in treatment of dementia; and others. Funds would be used to develop one session focused solely on mental health, and to "mainstream" presentations on the topic into other sessions (some falling under the general Congress theme of the Economics of Mental Health Disorders and Substance Abuse, and others focusing on methodological issues in health economics). Congress participants will come from over 60 countries, and will represent a mix of established researchers and others who are earlier in their careers. Not all attendees will be academic economists; there will also be a significant number of attendees from other disciplines, including physician-researchers interested in financing and economics. One purpose of the proposed grant is to expand and strengthen the group of researchers working in mental health, by creating several sessions on these topics, and by incorporating mental health issues into panel discussions on other topics. Another purpose is to provide opportunities for these researchers to network with each other. The Congress is being organized by two committees of leading health economists, who will design the sessions and select the Congress presenters.