Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: A call for action for mental health science

Emily  Holmes; Rory O’Connor; V Hugh Perry; Irene Tracey; Simon Wessely; Louise Arseneault; Clive G. Ballard; Helen Christensen; Roxane Cohen Silver; Ian Everall; Tamsin Ford; Ann John; Thomas Kabir; Kate King; Ira Madan; Susan Michie; Andrew K Przybylski; Roz Shafran; Angela Sweeney; Carol M Worthman; Lucy Yardley; Katherine Cowan; Claire Cope; Matthew Hotopf; Ed Bullmore

doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30168-1

Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: A call for action for mental health science

Emily Holmes, Rory O’Connor, V Hugh Perry, Irene Tracey, Simon Wessely, Louise Arseneault, Clive G. Ballard, Helen Christensen, Roxane Cohen Silver, Ian Everall, Tamsin Ford, Ann John, Thomas Kabir, Kate King, Ira Madan, Susan Michie, Andrew K Przybylski, Roz Shafran, Angela Sweeney, Carol M WorthmanLucy Yardley, Katherine Cowan, Claire Cope, Matthew Hotopf, Ed Bullmore

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Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having a profound effect on all aspects of society, including mental health and physical health. We explore the psychological, social, and neuroscientific effects of COVID-19 and set out the immediate priorities and longer-term strategies for mental health science research. These priorities were informed by surveys of the public and an expert panel convened by the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the mental health research charity, MQ: Transforming Mental Health, in the first weeks of the pandemic in the UK in March, 2020. We urge UK research funding agencies to work with researchers, people with lived experience, and others to establish a high level coordination group to ensure that these research priorities are addressed, and to allow new ones to be identified over time. The need to maintain high-quality research standards is imperative. International collaboration and a global perspective will be beneficial. An immediate priority is collecting high-quality data on the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across the whole population and vulnerable groups, and on brain function, cognition, and mental health of patients with COVID-19. There is an urgent need for research to address how mental health consequences for vulnerable groups can be mitigated under pandemic conditions, and on the impact of repeated media consumption and health messaging around COVID-19. Discovery, evaluation, and refinement of mechanistically driven interventions to address the psychological, social, and neuroscientific aspects of the pandemic are required. Rising to this challenge will require integration across disciplines and sectors, and should be done together with people with lived experience. New funding will be required to meet these priorities, and it can be efficiently leveraged by the UK’s world-leading infrastructure. This Position Paper provides a strategy that may be both adapted for, and integrated with, research efforts in other countries.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	547-560
Number of pages	14
Journal	The Lancet Psychiatry
Volume	7
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30168-1
Publication status	Published - Jun 2020

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10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30168-1

MH science research priorities accepted versionAccepted author manuscript, 186 KB

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Holmes, E., O’Connor, R., Perry, V. H., Tracey, I., Wessely, S., Arseneault, L., Ballard, C. G., Christensen, H., Cohen Silver, R., Everall, I., Ford, T., John, A., Kabir, T., King, K., Madan, I., Michie, S., Przybylski, A. K., Shafran, R., Sweeney, A., ... Bullmore, E. (2020). Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: A call for action for mental health science. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(6), 547-560. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30168-1

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abstract = "The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having a profound effect on all aspects of society, including mental health and physical health. We explore the psychological, social, and neuroscientific effects of COVID-19 and set out the immediate priorities and longer-term strategies for mental health science research. These priorities were informed by surveys of the public and an expert panel convened by the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the mental health research charity, MQ: Transforming Mental Health, in the first weeks of the pandemic in the UK in March, 2020. We urge UK research funding agencies to work with researchers, people with lived experience, and others to establish a high level coordination group to ensure that these research priorities are addressed, and to allow new ones to be identified over time. The need to maintain high-quality research standards is imperative. International collaboration and a global perspective will be beneficial. An immediate priority is collecting high-quality data on the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across the whole population and vulnerable groups, and on brain function, cognition, and mental health of patients with COVID-19. There is an urgent need for research to address how mental health consequences for vulnerable groups can be mitigated under pandemic conditions, and on the impact of repeated media consumption and health messaging around COVID-19. Discovery, evaluation, and refinement of mechanistically driven interventions to address the psychological, social, and neuroscientific aspects of the pandemic are required. Rising to this challenge will require integration across disciplines and sectors, and should be done together with people with lived experience. New funding will be required to meet these priorities, and it can be efficiently leveraged by the UK{\textquoteright}s world-leading infrastructure. This Position Paper provides a strategy that may be both adapted for, and integrated with, research efforts in other countries.",

author = "Emily Holmes and Rory O{\textquoteright}Connor and Perry, {V Hugh} and Irene Tracey and Simon Wessely and Louise Arseneault and Ballard, {Clive G.} and Helen Christensen and {Cohen Silver}, Roxane and Ian Everall and Tamsin Ford and Ann John and Thomas Kabir and Kate King and Ira Madan and Susan Michie and Przybylski, {Andrew K} and Roz Shafran and Angela Sweeney and Worthman, {Carol M} and Lucy Yardley and Katherine Cowan and Claire Cope and Matthew Hotopf and Ed Bullmore",

year = "2020",

month = jun,

doi = "10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30168-1",

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Holmes, E, O’Connor, R, Perry, VH, Tracey, I, Wessely, S , Arseneault, L, Ballard, CG, Christensen, H, Cohen Silver, R, Everall, I, Ford, T, John, A, Kabir, T, King, K, Madan, I, Michie, S, Przybylski, AK, Shafran, R, Sweeney, A, Worthman, CM, Yardley, L, Cowan, K, Cope, C, Hotopf, M & Bullmore, E 2020, 'Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: A call for action for mental health science', The Lancet Psychiatry, vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 547-560. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30168-1

TY - JOUR

T1 - Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic

T2 - A call for action for mental health science

AU - Holmes, Emily

AU - O’Connor, Rory

AU - Perry, V Hugh

AU - Tracey, Irene

AU - Wessely, Simon

AU - Arseneault, Louise

AU - Ballard, Clive G.

AU - Christensen, Helen

AU - Cohen Silver, Roxane

AU - Everall, Ian

AU - Ford, Tamsin

AU - John, Ann

AU - Kabir, Thomas

AU - King, Kate

AU - Madan, Ira

AU - Michie, Susan

AU - Przybylski, Andrew K

AU - Shafran, Roz

AU - Sweeney, Angela

AU - Worthman, Carol M

AU - Yardley, Lucy

AU - Cowan, Katherine

AU - Cope, Claire

AU - Hotopf, Matthew

AU - Bullmore, Ed

PY - 2020/6

Y1 - 2020/6

N2 - The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having a profound effect on all aspects of society, including mental health and physical health. We explore the psychological, social, and neuroscientific effects of COVID-19 and set out the immediate priorities and longer-term strategies for mental health science research. These priorities were informed by surveys of the public and an expert panel convened by the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the mental health research charity, MQ: Transforming Mental Health, in the first weeks of the pandemic in the UK in March, 2020. We urge UK research funding agencies to work with researchers, people with lived experience, and others to establish a high level coordination group to ensure that these research priorities are addressed, and to allow new ones to be identified over time. The need to maintain high-quality research standards is imperative. International collaboration and a global perspective will be beneficial. An immediate priority is collecting high-quality data on the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across the whole population and vulnerable groups, and on brain function, cognition, and mental health of patients with COVID-19. There is an urgent need for research to address how mental health consequences for vulnerable groups can be mitigated under pandemic conditions, and on the impact of repeated media consumption and health messaging around COVID-19. Discovery, evaluation, and refinement of mechanistically driven interventions to address the psychological, social, and neuroscientific aspects of the pandemic are required. Rising to this challenge will require integration across disciplines and sectors, and should be done together with people with lived experience. New funding will be required to meet these priorities, and it can be efficiently leveraged by the UK’s world-leading infrastructure. This Position Paper provides a strategy that may be both adapted for, and integrated with, research efforts in other countries.

AB - The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having a profound effect on all aspects of society, including mental health and physical health. We explore the psychological, social, and neuroscientific effects of COVID-19 and set out the immediate priorities and longer-term strategies for mental health science research. These priorities were informed by surveys of the public and an expert panel convened by the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the mental health research charity, MQ: Transforming Mental Health, in the first weeks of the pandemic in the UK in March, 2020. We urge UK research funding agencies to work with researchers, people with lived experience, and others to establish a high level coordination group to ensure that these research priorities are addressed, and to allow new ones to be identified over time. The need to maintain high-quality research standards is imperative. International collaboration and a global perspective will be beneficial. An immediate priority is collecting high-quality data on the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic across the whole population and vulnerable groups, and on brain function, cognition, and mental health of patients with COVID-19. There is an urgent need for research to address how mental health consequences for vulnerable groups can be mitigated under pandemic conditions, and on the impact of repeated media consumption and health messaging around COVID-19. Discovery, evaluation, and refinement of mechanistically driven interventions to address the psychological, social, and neuroscientific aspects of the pandemic are required. Rising to this challenge will require integration across disciplines and sectors, and should be done together with people with lived experience. New funding will be required to meet these priorities, and it can be efficiently leveraged by the UK’s world-leading infrastructure. This Position Paper provides a strategy that may be both adapted for, and integrated with, research efforts in other countries.

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DO - 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30168-1

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JO - The Lancet Psychiatry

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ER -

Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: A call for action for mental health science

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