Kaiser Permanente Southern California selected for 10-center Mental Health Research Network

The Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation has been selected for inclusion in the 10-center Mental Health Research Network (MHRN) recently funded with a $10.5 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. The five other Kaiser Permanente research centers included in the MHRN are located in Northern California, Oregon, Colorado, Georgia, and Hawaii.

"This is a big move towards true parity between physical and mental health treatment and research. Kaiser Permanente Southern California is critical to this network as we have the largest membership in the network and one of the most ethnically diverse," notes Karen J. Coleman, PhD, research scientist and lead for the Kaiser Permanente Southern California MHRN site. "We can contribute substantially to the understanding of mental health issues across different cultures and how best to treat mental illness in these diverse groups."

Utilizing the population-based medical information from the HMO Research Network, the MHRN will develop a diverse national resource for mental health researchers that will make prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and dissemination of mental health research findings more efficient and robust. This effort has the potential to include 10 million people across 12 states.

Mental health disorders affect people of all ages, ethnic groups, and socioeconomic status. Research to identify the best approach to identify, treat, and prevent mental health conditions will require large studies on diverse populations, such as that served by Kaiser Permanente Southern California.

Kaiser Permanente participating research centers and researchers include:

1. Department of Research & Evaluation at Kaiser Permanente Southern California in Pasadena: Karen J. Coleman, PhD, and Virginia Quinn, PhD;

2. Division of Research at Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Oakland: Enid Hunkeler, MA, Lisa Croen, PhD, and Bruce Fireman, MA;

3. Center for Health Research at Kaiser Permanente Northwest in Portland, OR: Frances Lynch, PhD, and Greg Clarke, PhD;

4. Institute for Health Research at Kaiser Permanente Colorado in Denver: Arne Beck, PhD, David Price, MD, and Marsha Raebel, PharmD;

5. Center for Health Research at Kaiser Permanente Georgia in Atlanta: Robert Davis, MD, Ashli Owen-Smith, PhD, and Lynne Padgett, PhD;

6. Center for Health Research at Kaiser Permanente Hawaii in Honolulu: Ameena Ahmed, MD, and Beth Waitzfelder, MA, PhD.

The MHRN is led by Gregory Simon, MD, MPH, at Group Health Research Institute in Seattle, WA. Other research sites include Center for Health Services at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, MI; HealthPartners Research Foundation in Minneapolis, MN; and the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care in Boston, MA.

Some of the funding for the Mental Health Research Network is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA, commonly known as the 2009 stimulus package or recovery act.