Developing an electronic mental health resource for Scotland v01
Research type
Research Database
IRAS ID
256752
Contact name
Carys Pugh
Contact email
Research summary
Scottish Mental Health Database
REC name
South East Scotland REC 02
REC reference
19/SS/0074
Date of REC Opinion
30 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion
Data collection arrangements
We intend to collect responses to an online questionnaire about mental health. The questionnaire will also include questions about factors that may affect a person's risk of developing mental health problems, such as experience of traumatic events. The responses will then be securely linked to routinely collected health records, such as information about prescriptions. Together, these data would be anonymised and held within a secure data Safe Haven where electronic health records are normally kept. The combined data will be analysed to better understand the links between mental and physical health.
Potential participants will be contacted by SHARE, which is a register of people in Scotland who have an expressed an interest in taking part in health research and currently comprises over 250,000 people. The mental health questionnaire is similar to that used by UK Biobank so it will be possible to build on work from that project and increase the number of people involved in this type of health research.Research programme
Mental ill-health is a major and growing public health concern, and the number of people with common psychiatric conditions is reported to be increasing. A better understanding of mental health conditions, and the factors associated with mental health risk, is crucial in order to improve wellbeing, and to minimise the mental health-related burden on the individual, their family and society as a whole. The database is being built as part of a Medical Research Council Pathfinder project, aimed to increase capacity for investigating mental health, and the relationship between mental and physical health. People who register for SHARE are also able to give permission for their spare bloods to be collected from routine blood testing and this will facilitate potential genetic analyses with the aim of identifying the physical processes underlying mental ill-health. The intent behind the wider research programme is to improve understanding of individual risk of developing mental ill-health, and how to better tailor interventions, such as talking therapies or specific medications, to an individual so that they have the best outcome possible.
Research database title
Scottish Mental Health Database
Establishment organisation
University of Edinburgh
Establishment organisation address
Old College
South Bridge
Edinburgh
EH8 9YL