RG Mental Health Services Research

The mental health services research group at the Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH) in Mannheim focuses on studies on the manifold aspects of care provision for mentally disordered persons (needs, outcomes, co-ordination of care, system aspects, costs etc.). Research studies cover the whole range of mental disorders over the lifespan and address significant areas of life, such as occupation, accommodation or the social life of patients. Thus, the analyses of treatments or care concepts go beyond the clinical or medical perspective and include decisive social, legislative, economic or other factors are into the models. Apart from common clinical samples suffering from schizophrenia, depression or dementia, studies of the research group particularly focus on so called “difficult to treat” or marginalized patient groups such as homeless mentally ill, mentally ill offenders or patients with high risk for civil detention. In this regard, the Research Group headed several multi-centre studies for the European Commission analyzing European forensic or prison mental health care.

To address these issues or patient groups, methods or tools from empirical social research, systems analyses or health economy may be applied in RCTs or long-term follow-up studies. Findings are highly relevant for clinicians, service providers, decision makers or mentally ill patients and their families alike. Thus, the Mental Health Services Research Group fulfils the CIMH charter mission to provide scientifically based advice or consultancy to public bodies for planning, implementing or improving mental health care. In this regard, the Research Group is renowned and requested on a regional, national and international level and collaborates with service providers, financial bodies, health insurance companies or Federal, European or Non-European agencies.  The research group is regional partner of the Baden-Württemberg Federal program for developing health services research and active and for the promotion of young researchers in this field.

Additionally, the Research Group is one among very few in Germany that regularly conducts cost- or cost-effectiveness studies in the mental health care field. As such, the Research Group was heading health economy projects in the Competence Networks “Schizophrenia”, “Depression and Suicidal Behaviour” as well as in the “Addiction Research Combine Baden-Württemberg”. Due to the strong need for health economy related findings in all medical fields, the group is increasingly involved into cost-studies in physical health or somatic care as well.

The group is closely connected to a large network of international experts in the above mentioned fields and was awarded several times for its research.