Background
Mental health difficulties are a leading cause of disability worldwide. National and international mental health policies highlight a need to strengthen the quality, relevance and impact of research to improve population mental health and wellbeing.
Aims and objectives
The CO-PRIME Collaborative Research Network in Mental Health will bring together researchers, people with lived experience (PWLE)[1] and their family members/supporters, health professionals, services and community-based organisations (CBOs) across the island of Ireland. The Network will:
Facilitate sustained collaborative engagement across disciplines and contexts;
Embed lived experience and a culture of collaboration and co-production in the design, conduct, application and dissemination of mental health research;
Build capacity by:
– Training and supporting the career development of early (and mid-) career and peer researchers, lived experience contributors and service providers
– Establishing and growing an inclusive and transparent Network membership
Identify and explore key challenges/knowledge gaps;
Support effective and timely translation of research/evidence into policy and practice.
Planned activities and impact
Seven separate but inter-linked, co-developed work packages (WPs) will be implemented to support and facilitate: (1) communication, outreach and collaborative engagement (WPs1,2); (2) research development, innovation and capacity building (through education/training and data infrastructure) (WPs 3,4); (3) integrated knowledge translation (e.g. methods/approaches, policy-practice linkages) (WPs 5,6); and (4) all-island and international relationship building (WP 7).
Network activities will include a focus on aspects of the National Mental Health Research Strategy (NMHRS) priority areas/domains of: ‘Promotion, prevention and early intervention’; ‘Service access, coordination and care continuity’; ‘Social inclusion’; and ‘Accountability and continuous improvement’. Our mission is to advance the production and implementation of high-quality mental health research in these areas by supporting a culture of collaboration and shared ownership, developing capacity, and promoting progressive and inclusive research infrastructures.
[1] See Supporting Document 1 (SD1) for list of abbreviations.