About PSY-DIVER
Gender and other diversity-related factors in psychiatric-psychotherapeutic hospital care
Project Overview
Mental illnesses affect many people, but not everybody in the same way. Gender, origin, social status, housing situation, and other aspects (the seven diversity dimensions of the Diversity Charter) influence how individuals become ill, which therapies they receive, and how effective these therapies are. Nevertheless, these differences are hardly systematically integrated into mental healthcare.
The PSY-DIVER project is funded by the Innovation Committee of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) and examines how these and other diversity-related factors can be better considered in the future. For this purpose, data from the LVR clinic network, which annually treats around 35,000 inpatient and 70,000 outpatient individuals with mental illnesses, will be analyzed. In addition, affected individuals, relatives and close ones, and professionals will be surveyed so that their experiences and needs are better understood. The project integrates elements of participatory research in which those affected are actively involved. After data analysis, the goal is the joint development of recommendations for gender- and diversity-sensitive design of mental healthcare.
Goals
Development of data recognition procedures
Development of procedures to reliably identify diversity-relevant information in routine data and clinical documentation – also applicable to future research projects.
Identification of gender and diversity-specific differences
Identification of gender and diversity-specific differences in the care of people with mental illness: in the prescription of psychopharmaceuticals, in the provision of psychotherapy and psychosocial therapies, and in the effectiveness of treatments (intersectional approach).
Development of recommendations for action
Development of recommendations for action to advance inpatient and outpatient mental healthcare with diversity sensitivity and needs-based approaches.
Background
In psychiatric hospital care, pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and psychosocial therapies play a central role. How patients utilize these services and how effective they are depends not only on the illness but also on gender and diversity-related factors. These can create barriers, such as through language problems, cultural differences, reservations about therapies, or social disadvantages. Physical differences can also influence how well medications are tolerated. However, studies systematically examining the utilization and effectiveness of therapies in psychiatric hospitals considering gender, age, origin, or social factors are currently lacking.
At the same time, diversity-related aspects are becoming increasingly important: New scientific findings show gender-specific factors influencing the effectiveness and tolerability of therapeutic approaches. Demographic and sociocultural changes are leading to an increase in older affected individuals and people with refugee experiences and/or migration backgrounds. Likewise, the number of people with increasingly precarious living conditions such as homelessness is rising. These developments underscore the necessity of needs-based and diversity-sensitive care.
Study Design & Data Protection
PSY-DIVER uses a mixed-methods design. This combines the analysis of large amounts of data with personal surveys. The study design follows a participatory-generative approach and involves people affected by mental illnesses, as well as relatives and close ones of those affected and clinical professionals in core decision-making areas of the project. With the help of artificial intelligence, additional information is obtained from the digital medical records of the nine psychiatric-psychotherapeutic specialty clinics of the LVR. Only anonymized data will be used, and it will not be possible to identify any individual patients. Data protection will be ensured at every stage of the project.
PSY-DIVER is a project of the LVR Institute for Research and Education (IFuB), funded by the Innovation Fund of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) and supported by the German Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (DGPPN).
Contact
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