The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) and the Mental Health Research Advisory Group (MHRAG) have launched a 102-page manual which seeks to streamline mental health research in the country.
The "Quality Mental Health Research in the Philippines: Conceptualization, Design, and Methods" manual was launched on July 14 to help researchers develop proposals “that are consistent with the language and mindset for mental health research in the Philippines” based on Republic Act No. 11036 or the Mental Health Act.
“The purpose of this document is twofold: first, to serve as a working manual to guide mental health researchers in the submission of their proposals to PCHRD and other research organizations and second, to record the rich discourse on mental health concepts and research framework generated from the writeshop,” DOST- PCHRD Executive Director Dr. Jaime C. Montoya said in a statement.
The manual was developed from the PCHRD-initiated writeshop entitled, “Capacity Building in Technical Writing for Mental Health Research Proposal Development” held on Nov. 24 and Dec. 5 last year.
“It is recognized that the production of this manual is an initial venture in writing manuals on mental health research in the Philippines. Hence, it is considered as a “work in progress” in developing quality mental health research in our country,” said Dr. Lourdes Ladrido-Ignacio, who heads the MHRAG.
The working manual contains the essential discussions exchanged between the lecturers and participants during the writeshop and is also supplemented with slide presentations used during the writeshop which are made publicly accessible online, the PCHRD said.
“Worksheet activities are also included at the end of each chapter to guide the researchers in developing research proposals,” it added.