Prioritising mental health research areas for India: A modified delphi-based exercise by the Indian Council of Medical Research
Background & objectives The prevalence of mental health disorders in India is a growing public health concern, yet there is a dearth of initiatives and consensus on prioritising mental health research areas at the national level. This paper presents the findings from the modified Delphi-based exercise undertaken by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to address this gap. By engaging key stakeholders from diverse sectors-including mental health professionals, State programme officers, health care providers, policymakers, researchers, and civil society representatives-the exercise aimed to identify critical mental health research gaps and develop a blueprint to guide public mental health research in the country. Methods A comprehensive methodology consisting of four steps was followed, including the initial conceptualisation and desk review, a national level brainstorming meeting, restructuring and finalisation of the questions, and prioritisation process. Results Through a rigorous, iterative process of prioritisation and consensus, the top three mental health research questions were identified. These included (i) implementing suicide prevention interventions in schools and colleges, (ii) integrating mental disorder screening and treatment into non-communicable disease care, and (iii) reducing the treatment gap for mental disorders. Conclusion The outcomes of this exercise shall provide valuable insights for mental health research, policy, and resource allocation strategies at the national level.
Authors
- Anant Bhan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7456-535X)
- Johncy James
- Neena Sawant (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6842-0912)
- Rupinder Singh Dhaliwal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6011-0346)
- Om Prakash (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6568-0567)
- Gunjan Singh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6115-3460)
- Anadrika Debbarma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5786-3752)
- Amit Chakrabarti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2821-1320)
- Deepshikha Prasad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9668-5507)
- Neha Dahiya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2276-8016)
- Amit Khanna
- YPS Balhara
- Rajkumar Lenin Singh
- Smita N. Deshpande
- Ashoo Grover
- Preeti Bajpai
- Prashant Mishra
- Sandeep Grover
- Pulkit Verma
- Parveen
- Ravinder Singh
- Padmavati Ramachandran
- Basudev Das
- Vivek Agarwal
- Ranita Devi Athokpam
Institutions
- National Institute of Technology Patna (IN)
- Schizophrenia Research Foundation (IN)
- Ambedkar University Delhi (IN)
- King Edward Memorial Hospital and Seth G.S. Medical College (IN)
- King George's Medical University (IN)
- Indian Council of Medical Research (IN)
- Directorate of Health (IS)
- Institute of Mental Health (IN)
- Sangath (IN)
- Government Medical College (IN)
- Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IN)
- St.John's Medical College Hospital (IN)
- Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (IN)
- Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (IN)
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences (IN)
- National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Indian Journal of Medical Research
- Published
- 2025-12-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.25259/ijmr_1262_2025
- Primary Topic
- Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Indian Council of Medical Research