PhenX Measures for Mental Health Research (MHR)
On August 10, 2013, President Obama announced a National Research Action Plan (NRAP) designed to improve access to mental
health services for veterans, service members, and military families. Focused on traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), and suicide prevention, NRAP calls for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Department
of Defense (DoD), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to identify common data elements (CDEs) that facilitate sharing
of research data.
In response to NRAP, NIMH launched the PhenX Measures for Mental Health Research Project. The goal of this project is to establish
a common currency that will enable a better understanding of the etiology, progression, and treatment of suicide, PTSD, and
other mental health conditions by selecting high-quality mental health-related measures and protocols for inclusion in the
PhenX Toolkit. Consistent use of PhenX measures, and thus CDEs, will make it easier for investigators to compare results from
different studies and to combine data sets to create larger sample sizes, increasing statistical power and the ability to detect
more subtle and complex associations among variables.
Mental Health Research Panel (MHRP)
The Mental Health Research Panel (MHRP), composed of nine scientists and co-chaired by Dr. Deanna Barch and Dr. Ian Gotlib, provides the overall direction and guidance to the PhenX Measures for Mental Health Research Project. The roles of the MHRP are to:
- Create a "Core" Collection of measures for use by all mental health researchers
- Refine the scope of the Post-traumatic Stress Psychopathology (including PTSD), Suicide, Eating Disorders, and Early Psychosis Specialty Areas
- Help identify individuals to serve as members of the Working Groups (WGs)
- Identify an MHRP member to serve as liaison to each WG
Mental Health Working (MHR) Groups
Four WGs (WG 1: Suicide, WG2: Post-traumatic Stress Psychopathology (including PTSD), WG 3: Eating Disorders, WG 4: Early Psychosis ) composed of five to eleven scientists with relevant expertise were assembled to select measures for each Specialty Collection. Each WG was led by a chair or co-chairs and was supported by a PhenX WG supervisor and manager. The Suicide and Post-traumatic Stress Psychopathology (including PTSD) Working Groups included nonvoting liaisons from the MHRP, NIMH, DoD, and VA. The Eating Disorders Working Group included a nonvoting liaison from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The Early Psychosis Working Group included a liaison from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The tasks of the WGs were to:
- Identify and review well-established measures and instruments currently in use in the field
- Examine mental health - related measures in the PhenX Toolkit to ensure that new measures complement existing Toolkit content
- Select preliminary measures to share with the research community and get feedback (community outreach)
- Suggest groups in the research community for the community outreach efforts
- Consider feedback from community outreach when deciding the high-priority MHR measures to be included in the Toolkit
- Present recommended measures to the MHRP and the PhenX Steering Committee (SC) for approval
Criteria for Selecting Measures
WGs selected measures for the PhenX Toolkit using criteria suggested by the PhenX SC. The criteria for selecting PhenX measures are:
- Clearly defined
- Well established and have demonstrated
- Broadly applicable and generally accepted
- Low burden to participants and investigators
- Reproducible
- Specific
- Reliable
- Available and have existing standard measurement protocols
Additional criteria for selecting PhenX measures include:
- Crosscutting relevance for population groups as well as diseases and conditions
- Use in major reference study (e.g., the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey)
- Open-source software and nonproprietary instruments preferred
- Brevity
- Expectation of acceptance by the research community
PhenX Measures for Mental Health Senior Management Team
| Gregory K. Farber, PhD National Institute of Mental Health |
Rebecca Boyles, MS PhenX MHR WG Supervisor |
| Adam Haim, PhD National Institute of Mental Health |
Wayne Huggins, PhD PhenX MHRP Coordinator, PhenX MHR WG Supervisor |
| Erin M. Ramos, PhD, MPH PhenX Project Scientist |
Deborah R. Maiese, MPA PhenX Consensus Coordinator |
| Carol M. Hamilton, PhD PhenX Principal Investigator |
Marcie Rathbun, BS PhenX MHR WG Manager |
| Tabitha Hendershot, BA PhenX Co-Investigator |
Amanda Riley, PMP PhenX Project Manager |
| Violet Abraham, BS PhenX MHR WG Manager |
PhenX Measures for Mental Health Funding Organizations
National Human Genome Research Institute
| Erin M. Ramos, PhD, MPH PhenX Project Scientist |
Brenda Iglesias, BA PhenX Scientific Program Analyst |
| Margaret Ginoza PhenX Scientific Program Analyst |
National Institute of Mental Health
| Gregory K. Farber, PhD Director, Office of Technology Development and Coordination |
Adam Haim, PhD Chief, Clinical Trials Operations and Biostatistics Branch |
National Institute on Drug Abuse
| Kevin P. Conway, PhD Deputy Director, Division of Epidemiology Services and Prevention Research |