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30/06/2025 - General information

The Hospital del Mar Research Institute leads a project to improve population mental health monitoring

The Health Services Research Group at the Hospital del Mar Research Institute of Barcelona (HMRIB) is leading the INSTRUMENTAL project, in collaboration with the General Subdirectorate of Addictions, HIV and Viral Hepatitis (SGAVIHV). The project aims to generate relevant and applicable knowledge about the mental health measurement instruments used in general population studies. This pioneering initiative seeks to optimize how population mental health is assessed.

Monitoring mental health at the population level is essential to estimate the burden of common mental disorders and the emergence of new mental health challenges. However, there is a wide variety of measurement tools, with significant differences in terms of their validity and suitability. These disparities hinder the comparability of studies and limit the usefulness and generalizability of the data collected.

The research team, led by Dr. Gemma Vilagut and Dr. Jordi Alonso from HMRIB's Health Services Research Group, aims to address these limitations by: 1) conducting a systematic review of the most commonly used instruments; 2) creating a conceptual map of the constructs measured; and 3) rigorously evaluating the psychometric properties of the instruments.

"One of the key innovations of this project is the access to international health survey datasets (especially in Europe) and data from within Spain, at the national, regional and local levels. This will allow us to better assess the comparability of the instruments used", says Dr. Vilagut.

All of this will contribute to developing recommendations on which measures are most suitable for monitoring different constructs in population mental health.

Currently, the team -which includes experts in psychology, statistics, and health planning- is finalizing the review of the most frequently used instruments, paving the way for data extraction and analysis.

"The results will be presented and discussed with key stakeholders in the public health sector to reach a consensus on how to improve the measurement and monitoring of mental health in population health surveys", explains Dr. Jordi Alonso.

Through this collaboration, the SGAVIHV reaffirms its commitment to research and to improving mental health information systems - a crucial step for better planning and public health responses.

This project is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) and co-funded by the European Union (project reference: PI23/00073).

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Participating Institutions:

Hospital del Mar Research Institute (HMRIB), CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Universidad de León, King's College London, Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona (ADPB), Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB SANT PAU), Asoc. Después del Suicidio- Assoc de Supervivientes (DSAS), Subdirecció General d´Addiccions, VIH i Hepatitis Víriques, Direcció General del Planificació en Salut, Dpt. Salut, Generalitat de Catalunya, Subdirección General de Información Sanitaria, Secretaría General de Salud Digital, Información e Innovación del Sistema Nacional de salud. Ministerio de Sanidad, Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP).

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