Evidence-based Science Policy for Mental Health in a Post-Truth Era
Evidence-based Science Policy for Mental Health in a Post-Truth Era
(New York, NY – Feb 6, 2017) Fake news and questionable claims are not confined to the world of politics and social media. “The field of medical research, and psychiatric research specifically, is not immune from these concerns,” write Harold A. Pincus, M.D., Vice Chair for Strategic Initiatives and Stephanie A. Rolin, M.D., M.P.H., Psychiatry Resident at the Columbia University Medical Center in the Feb 6, 2017 issue of Lancet Psychiatry.
While delineating the problems - “Exaggerated and false claims have long existed… the decision-making processes by research funding agencies remain opaque…” and noting the complexity of the issues, the authors suggest an agenda of key issues for study in order to guide mental health research policy with a fact-based approach.
The key issues address:
WHAT… is an appropriately balanced mental health research portfolio?
WHERE … is funding appropriately distributed across institutions and regions?
WHO… are we investing in the right number and type of investigators?
HOW… do peer review and scientific regulatory processes achieve the desired results?
HOW MUCH… are we spending an appropriate amount given the high cost of mental care?
Finally, the basic premise of mental health research is to consider the wider implications of knowledge and treatment, not focus on narrow issues such as citation indices. Why we carry out research is to address meaningful change in clinical practice and patient outcomes, thus “in an era of ideology, instant opinion, fake news and so-called alternative facts, objective data and transparent decision-making matter more than ever.”
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