In August, Forte will open a call for proposals on practice-oriented research into mental illness. The call focuses on two areas: early interventions regarding mental illness and coordinated interventions for people with severe psychiatric problems. This call welcomes applications for 1–3 years of project funding.

In the beginning of August 2019, Forte will open a call for proposals on practice-oriented research into mental illness. The Swedish government has tasked Forte with allocating grants to stimulate practice-oriented research into mental illness. This task focuses on two areas:

  • Preventive and early interventions regarding mental illness.
  • Coordinated interventions for people with severe psychiatric problems.

This call welcomes applications for 1–3 years of project funding for practice-oriented research into mental illness. SEK 10 million is available for 2019, and we plan for an equivalent amount to be available for 2020–2021.

There is a need for greater knowledge on practical methods of early and preventive intervention for people with mental illness and coordinated interventions for people with severe psychiatric problems. Forte is therefore making funding available for practice-oriented research, by which it means research that is a collaboration between academia and actors within, for example, primary care, psychiatry, social services, dependency care and civil society.

Forte also wishes to see the collaboration with representatives of relevant professions within the health service and social services, plus users and relatives, extend to both planning and implementation of the research.

Early interventions to combat mental illness

In this context, mental illness means anxiety and depression, as well as certain other mental issues of a less serious nature. The research is to focus on developing and evaluating methods for preventive and early intervention, or on examining how evidence-based methods can be implemented in practice.

Preventive and early intervention may relate to interventions at group and population level, for example at workplaces, in schools or targeting defined target groups such as newly arrived refugees. The focus may also be on interventions aimed at individuals, such as early interventions in primary care, social services or schools, perhaps relating to people in early stages of sick leave or young people who make contact with the school health service.

Coordinated interventions for people with severe psychiatric problems

Severe psychiatric problems include chronic psychoses or serious and persistent depression. Coordinated interventions mean interventions conducted jointly by different principles, for example in social services, psychiatry or dependency care.

The research is to focus on identifying ways to achieve better and more coordinated interventions for this group, or on examining how evidence-based methods can be implemented in practice. The emphasis is on collaboration across different services, with the engagement of users (patients, relatives, professionals) as an essential factor.

The call is expected to open at the beginning of August and close in mid-September 2019. More information about the call for proposals, as well as instructions for applying, will be published on Forte’s website when the call opens.