RESEARCH WEEKLY: NIMH Fails to Prioritize Clinical Research for Serious Mental Illness by International Standards
By Elizabeth Hancq
A new report released last week, co-authored by Treatment Advocacy Center founder Dr. E. Fuller Torrey and me, provides further evidence of the failure of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to support clinical research for serious mental illness.
The report summarizes a paper released by the International Alliance of Mental Health Research Funders, in which researchers analyzed mental health and substance use research funded by governments or philanthropic organizations across the world. The findings suggest that the United States lags other regions in the world in research spending on serious mental illness. “If the five regions and countries were to be rank ordered based on funds allocated for clinical research and serious mental illness, the United Kingdom would rank first; Australia and New Zealand second; Canada third, the United States fourth; and Europe fifth,” we write.
This report represents the second in a new series by the Treatment Advocacy Center on the NIMH research portfolio. The first is the article published in November 2020 in PLOS One, utilizing the National Institutes of Health Research, Condition and Disease Categorization Database. Through an independent review by three psychiatrists of the 428 research projects categorized for schizophrenia, the study authors found that only 10% of NIMH funded research projects have the possibility to produce meaningful impact on the quality of life of individuals with schizophrenia in the next 20 years.
Stay tuned for new updates from the Treatment Advocacy Center on the NIMH research portfolio in 2021, and how you can help.
Happy holidays and stay well.
