The University of California, Berkeley and Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj, Romania, propose to provide advanced, multidisciplinary research training to outstanding pre- and post-doctoral economists, psychiatrists, sociologists, clinicians, and mental health professionals from South Eastern Europe (SEE) in the latest research methods and issues regarding the economic and social factors that influence or drive the delivery of mental health care services. We propose to build upon the successful """"""""Finance and Mental Health Services Training in Czech Republic/Central Europe (5-D43-TW005810-10). Prof. Richard Scheffler, University of California, Berkeley, has been the PI and co-Director of this program for the past ten years. The other co-Director has been Prof. Martin Potucek, Charles University, Prague. During its span, the program has trained over sixty people from Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, and Slovakia. The past 5 years of the program has been highly successful by all measures, with over 72 publications and 3 books by its trainees. The PI of our new application will be Prof. Scheffler. Because the Czech Republic is now a high-income economy, we will replace Charles University with a new partner. We propose that the new partner be the new School of Public Health at Babes-Bolyai University (www.publichealth.ro/), Cluj-Napoca, Romania. SPH- BBU will serve as the hub of the program in Europe, attracting and screening candidates, and fostering their subsequent career development. Berkeley will continue to be the primary training site, providing senior faculty to mentor the trainees as they take classes, participate in seminars, and engage in research projects in their home countries. The new co-Director will be Razvan Chereches, MD, Ph.D., Babes-Bolyai University. Dr. Chereches has himself been a trainee and a project leader in our previous program. He has also participated in other NIH programs: University of Iowa International Training and Research in Occupational and Environmental Health Program, Fogarty International Center - D43 TW000621;Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research and Training, Fogarty International Center- T37 MD001453-05;and University of Iowa International Collaborative Trauma and Injury Prevention Research and Training Program, Fogarty International Center - D43 TW007261. Just as the previous program expanded from the Czech Republic into four other countries in the region, we intend to start from Romania and Bulgaria, and expand into other LMICs in SEE. The countries of interest currently include Albania, Moldova, and Serbia, but other countries of the former Yugoslavia will also be considered. Expansion into any country always depends on identifying an appropriate institution and persons who can help support qualified and interested trainees.
The University of California, Berkeley and Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj, Romania, propose to provide advanced, multidisciplinary research training to outstanding pre- and post-doctoral economists, psychiatrists, sociologists, clinicians, and mental health professionals from South Eastern Europe (SEE) in the latest research methods and issues regarding the economic and social factors that influence or drive the delivery of mental health care services. Following shortcomings in mental health promotion, treatment, access to care, and resource allocation in SEE, our Program, Research Training: Socio-Economics of Mental Health Service Delivery in SE Europe, seeks to build an international network of mental health experts in SEE and to train the next generation of researchers and leaders in the region, who have a common understanding of current thinking on mental health financing and services. Our research trainees will gain the tools to examine the development and enhancement of public and private mental health service delivery systems from a social, political, and economic frame within their own countries. Research trainees will also gain training in research methods, ethics, and practices, which will have the potential for both publication and in-Country policy influence.
| Tirintica, Andreea Raluca; Andjelkovic, Ivana; Sota, Orela et al. (2018) Factors that influence access to mental health services in South-Eastern Europe. Int J Ment Health Syst 12:75 |
