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Priorities for research on mental health in primary care settings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Greg Wilkinson  and
Paul Williams
Greg Wilkinson*
Affiliation:
General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Paul Williams
Affiliation:
General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
*
1 Address for correspondence: Dr Greg Wilkinson, General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF.
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Synopsis

A Delphi study was conducted with a multi-disciplinary group of experts attending a conference on mental illness in primary care settings. Respondents' priorities for research which could maximize benefits for service developments in this field were elicited by asking them to distribute hypothetical annual research budgets among (a) 6 mental health priority areas, and (b) 7 subjects ‘needing’ investigation within the primary care priority area. The respondents' three top-ranked priority areas for research were: (1) primary care; (2) the elderly mentally ill; and (3) chronically disabling mental illness. Their three top-ranked subjects for investigation within the primary care priority area were: (1) the effectiveness of treatment measures; (2) the problems of mental health presenting to primary care services; and (3) the training requirements for family doctors in psychiatric skills.

The results are discussed with reference to the method used and to the economic concepts of programme budgeting and marginal analysis.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , August 1985 , pp. 507 - 514
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

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