Mental health Sessions at IHEA 4th World Congress

描述（由申请人提供）：国际卫生经济学协会（IHEA）正在为即将举行的第四届世界大会（2003年6月15日至18日，旧金山）心理健康经济学领域的主题寻求一个小组会议，两个或更多的受邀演讲者，以及一个演讲/讨论/网络早餐。两年一次的IHEA大会是世界上研究卫生问题的经济学家和经济学研究人员最大的会议。大会吸引了IHEA 3000多名会员中的大多数，为期四天的全体会议、小组讨论、研讨会和海报会议。（IHEA的组织目标包括加强沟通，培养更高标准的专业辩论，传递信息，促进卫生经济学家之间的合作。）第四届世界卫生大会的题目是“全球卫生经济学：衔接研究与改革”。在前三届大会（约克、英格兰、鹿特丹和温哥华）中，心理健康问题日益受到关注，因此今年大会组织者将其作为大会的一个主要主题，并将围绕这一主题组织多届会议。在这一主题范围内，目前正在规划有组织的会议，讨论的主题包括：世界各地的心理健康平等；老年痴呆症长期护理政策的国际比较和其他人。资金将用于举办一次专门讨论精神健康问题的会议，并将关于这一主题的发言“主流化”纳入其他会议（其中一些会议属于大会主题“精神健康障碍和药物滥用经济学”，其他会议则侧重于卫生经济学的方法问题）。大会的与会者将来自60多个国家，代表既有成熟的研究人员，也有职业生涯较早的其他研究人员。并非所有与会者都是学院派经济学家；也将有大量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。拟议拨款的目的之一是扩大和加强从事心理健康工作的研究人员群体，为此，就这些主题举办了几次会议，并将心理健康问题纳入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。大会由两个主要卫生经济学家组成的委员会组织，他们将设计会议并选择大会主持人。

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.