Mental Health challenge

Opening data on issues of access to psychiatric support and factors of mental well-being

[Challenge Statement generated with help from GPT-3.5]

Our challenge today is to help open up data on issues of access to psychiatric support and factors of mental well-being. The long-term goal is to create a platform that provides valuable insights and resources for improving mental health outcomes and reducing disparities in access to psychiatric support.

If we start with a prototype, we should think of designs that empower individuals, professionals, and policymakers with data-driven insights, enabling them to make informed decisions and take targeted actions to enhance mental well-being and improve access to psychiatric support. Here are some ideas for directions in which such prototypes could be developed at a hackathon:

1. Data Collection: Gather data on various factors related to mental well-being, such as demographics, socioeconomic status, mental health diagnoses, treatment options, accessibility to psychiatric support, and existing support services. Collaborate with mental health institutions, government agencies, and non-profit organizations to collect comprehensive and diverse datasets.
2. Data Visualization and Insights: Design intuitive and interactive visualizations to present the data in a user-friendly manner. Create visual representations of mental health accessibility, mental well-being indicators, and disparities in access to psychiatric support. Incorporate geospatial mapping to highlight regional differences. Enable users to filter data based on location, demographics, mental health indicators, or treatment options. Implement analytical models and algorithms to derive meaningful insights from the data. Develop predictive models to identify potential risk factors for mental health issues and suggest appropriate interventions.
3. Collaboration and Community Engagement: Provide a platform for mental health professionals, policymakers, researchers, and individuals to collaborate, share best practices, and contribute to improving mental health outcomes. Foster a community-driven approach to address the challenges of mental well-being and access to psychiatric support. Ensure the highest standards of data privacy and security throughout the platform. Comply with relevant regulations and guidelines to protect the confidentiality of personal health information.

Organizations in CH

https://www.143.ch/ueber-uns/ Schweizer Verband Die Dargebotene Hand

https://www.npg-rsp.ch/dokumente.html Netzwerk Psychische Gesundheit Schweiz

https://public-health.ch/de/themen/mentale-gesundheit-neu/ Mental Health working group of Public Health Switzerland

https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/de/25385533 Obsan 03/2023 - Psychische Gesundheit, Erhebung Herbst 2022

https://www.bfh.ch/de/aktuell/storys/mental-health-in-der-schweiz/ BFH 11/2023 - Wie steht es um die psychische Gesundheit in der Schweiz?

Open data in CH

BFS - Finanzielle Situation und psychische Gesundheit der Studierenden während der Covid-19-Pandemie im Jahr 2020 https://opendata.swiss/de/dataset/finanzielle-situation-und-psychische-gesundheit-der-studierenden-wahrend-der-covid-19-pand-2020)

BFS - Subjektive Einschätzung des psychischen Wohlbefindens, nach verschiedenen soziodemografischen Merkmalen https://opendata.swiss/de/dataset/subjektive-einschatzung-des-psychischen-wohlbefindens-nach-verschiedenen-soziodemografischen-me

BFS - Massnahmenvollzug: Einweisungen, mittlerer Bestand, Aufenthaltstage mit Behandlung von psychischen Störungen (Art. 59 StGB) https://opendata.swiss/de/dataset/massnahmenvollzug-einweisungen-mittlerer-bestand-aufenthaltstage-mit-behandlung-von-psychischen1

BFS - Massnahmenvollzug: mittlerer Insassenbestand mit Behandlung von psychischen Störungen (Art. 59 StGB) nach Geschlecht, Nationalität und Alter https://opendata.swiss/de/dataset/massnahmenvollzug-mittlerer-insassenbestand-mit-behandlung-von-psychischen-storungen-art-59-stg1

ETH-Bibliothek - Korrespondenzbestand C. G. Jung https://opendata.swiss/de/dataset/c-g-jung-correspondence-2

Global data

There are currently 205 datasets tagged with 'Mental Disorder' on data.europa.eu - The official portal for European data.

The amount and quality of data available to support research into mental health could be increased substantially by doing the following: - Convening stakeholders to highlight the challenges of finding and sharing data and exploring and co-creating solutions - Establishing or adopting existing standards and FAIR principles to make data findable and reusable. - Advocating for open science and open research outside of academia in order to encourage a culture of sharing, collaboration and reuse to limit the number of datasets kept closed. - Explore options for motivating organisations to share data through incentives (financial, social), requirements (policies, regulations) and novel data sharing approaches such as data portals and the establishment of data institutions.

-- The ODI - Discovering open data for mental health research (2023)

We are a partnership of researchers, charities, and industry and lived experience experts funded by the Wellcome Trust. We searched the world for longitudinal datasets with the potential to facilitate transformative mental health research. ... This is the first study to identify longitudinal datasets for mental health from all regions of the world, compiling over 3,000 datasets from 146 countries. It was also completed with astonishing speed. The Landscaping project was commissioned by the Wellcome Trust in September 2022, and by the launch of the report in July 2023, a massive database had been compiled, providing access to valuable longitudinal data for researchers around the world.

-- Landscaping International Longitudinal Datasets (2023)

Now, we collect data on depression from two sources. First, we have data on diagnoses made by doctors. In many countries, doctors inquire about people’s symptoms and how much they correspond to the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). They also use tests to rule out medical conditions, such as thyroid disorders, that result in similar symptoms. Second, we have data on the severity of depression. This data is collected from patients and the general population, using many different questionnaires and rating scales. But there are still gaps in our knowledge. Data is lacking especially in many poorer places around the world. Even within high-income countries, people with poorer health or severe depression are much less likely to respond to these community surveys or report their symptoms accurately. If we didn’t take this into account, we would underestimate the prevalence of depression in the population.

-- Dattani et al. Mental Health - Our World in Data

Sample literature

According to the Global Burden of Disease Study, in 2019 approximately 792 million people presented mental health problems, a number that rises to 970 million people if substance use is included. ... The COVID-19 pandemic led to a global increase of mental health problems, particularly stress, depressive and anxious symptoms, suggesting an increased need for mental health assessment as well as the provision of services and efficacious interventional programmes.

-- Depression Literacy questionnaire, Campos et al. BMC Psychiatry (2022)

An estimated 4.05% of the global population has an anxiety disorder, translating to 301 million people. The number of persons affected has increased by more than 55% from 1990 to 2019. ... The prevalence is higher in high-income regions. Women are 1.66 times more likely to be affected by anxiety disorders than men. Age-standardized rates have remained stable, indicating the possible stability of risk factors.

-- Epidemiology of anxiety disorders: global burden and sociodemographic associations - Javaid et al. Springer Open (2023) via Descriptive Statistics of MHLq-SVa Dimensions, Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's Omega

[The] diagnosis of depression is currently based on interviews, and clinical scales carried out by professionals, such as psychiatrists and psychologists. The process is not only labor-consuming but also time-consuming. ... As non-invasive physiological data, Electroencephalography (EEG) provides a direct measure of postsynaptic potentials with millisecond temporal resolution. ... And it was discovered that the EEG signals from the right hemisphere are more distinctive in depression than those from the left hemisphere. ... Recordings of spoken language are another non-invasive accessible physiological data. ... The data collection includes three main data parts: Full brain 128-electrodes EEG data, 3-channel resting-state EEG data, and recordings of spoken language.

-- A multi-modal open dataset for mental-disorder analysis, Cai, Yuan, Gao et al. Nature (2022)

Emerging studies leverage large datasets of the internet to investigate seasonality in mental problems in the population. Key words that searched for various mental illness on Google over a period of 5 years, showed peaks in winter in both northern and southern hemispheres. Across the globe, seasonal rhythms in mood are also seen from social media posts and associated with changes in daylength.

-- Seasonality of brain function: role in psychiatric disorders. Rui Zhang, Nora D. Volkow. Translational Psychiatry (2023)

There is a need to advance our understanding of information needs in people with depression and anxiety. It is also important to identify sources of information that these individuals have used as well as their preferences for the formats of information delivery. This improved understanding will enable more patient-centred mental health care that addresses important information needs in this population and will allow for more effective health communication strategies.

-- Information needs and sources of information among people with depression and anxiety: a scoping review. Chan et al. BMC Psychiatry (2022)

Another avenue for future research is to examine the factors that influence individuals to participate in either peer-led or expert-led communities and the perceived differences between these types of communities. Furthermore, gaining insight into the mechanisms underlying the potential positive outcomes associated with participation in expert-led Online communities for mental health (OCMHs) can contribute to enhancing the quality of peer-led communities and fostering improved regulation within these virtual spaces.

-- Buffering against exposure to mental health misinformation in online communities on Facebook: the interplay of depression literacy and expert moderation, Bizzotto et al. BMC Public Health (2023)

Inspired by

Mayo Clinic - Mental health and the holidays: Seasonal depression

Psychology Today - Minding Your Mental Health This Holiday Season

National Alliance on Mental Illness - The Most Difficult Time of The Year: Mental Health During the Holidays