The NIHR Mental Health Policy Research Unit is launched today. Led by UCL and King’s College London, the new research unit will provide evidence to inform mental health policy.
Professor Miranda Wolpert, Director of the Evidence Based Practice Unit, is a co-investigator in the research unit, which will bring mental health policy makers, researchers, clinicians, service users and carers closer together.
The research unit will help the Department of Health and other policy makers develop plans that are based on sound evidence. The unit will focus on prevention, access and quality of mental health care, by conducting research on the impact of existing policies. With a national focus, it will help to guide future plans, and provide expert advice.
Commissioned by the Department of Health’s Policy Research Programme and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the research unit will be hosted at UCL, jointly led by UCL and King’s, alongside researchers from City, University of London and Middlesex University.
Professor Sonia Johnson (UCL Psychiatry), the Director of the Unit says:
“Across the health care system, we know more about what works than what we actually put into practice, as policy makers don’t always have the latest research findings readily available.
We are putting together a responsive core team, and building up a broader network of experts who will ensure that policy makers will have access to the most comprehensive and up-to-date evidence to guide their plans.”