By Jane L. Pearson, PhD and Chelsea Booth, PhD
Jane L. Pearson, PhD,
serves as the chair of NIMH’s Suicide Research Consortium and leads the NIH
Support Staff for the Research Prioritization Task Force. Chelsea Booth, PhD, is
a Presidential Management Fellow on rotation with NIMH’s Division of Services
and Intervention Research. Booth provides staff support for the Research
Prioritization Task Force.
As part of the National Action Alliance for Suicide
Prevention, the Research Prioritization Task Force is working to develop a
research agenda that has the potential to reduce morbidity (suicide attempts)
and mortality (suicide deaths) each, by at least 20% in 5 years and 40% or
greater in 10 years, if implemented successfully. In order to achieve this
goal, we are actively seeking input to identify types of research tools needed
to support rapid advancement in suicide prevention research. As such, we have
issued a Request for Information (RFI) inviting interested parties to
contribute their specific ideas for inclusion in a collection of ways to
facilitate suicide prevention research progress.
Specifically, we are asking interested parties to provide
input on the following topics: a) the key methodological roadblocks that
currently exist in suicide prevention research, and b) new paradigms and
theoretical models with the potential to spark innovative research. A
methodological roadblock is defined as a critical, unresolved challenge that is
clearly limiting progress along an important suicide prevention research
pathway. New research paradigms and theoretical models are novel ways of
thinking about suicide behavior and avenues for prevention. However, we welcome
input on any and all research-related topics on suicide prevention, such as
research you would like to see done, information you would like to know more
about that you think would be helpful in eradicating suicide, protective
factors you think are important in preventing suicide, or lessons you and/or
your community have learned about research in the past.
This RFI offers an opportunity for the community to identify
and prioritize the critical “bottlenecks” that impede progress, to suggest
solutions to one or more significant problems, and to nominate new paradigms
for approaching this work.
We invite input from researchers, mental health professionals,
suicide prevention and patient and family advocates, individuals who have
survived a suicide attempt, suicide loss survivors, private and public mental
health care providers and administrators, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology
industry, and all other interested groups or individuals.
To submit your ideas and comments, please e-mail us at RBSuicideResearch@nih.gov. You will
receive an electronic confirmation acknowledging receipt of your response, but will
not receive individualized feedback on any suggestions. We require no minimum
or maximum length for your submission.
This link
will take you to the full text of the RFI. Please note, although the official
announcement lists a response close date of April 27, 2012, we are still
accepting input.
Responses to this RFI
are voluntary and will be shared with scientific working groups convened by the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Action Alliance for
Suicide Prevention, as appropriate. The Government reserves the right to use
any non-proprietary technical information in summaries of the state of the
science, and any resultant solicitation(s). The NIH may use the information
gathered to develop grant, contract, or other funding priorities and
initiatives. This RFI is for information and planning purposes only and should
not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the
Federal Government, NIH, or individual NIH Institutes or Centers. The NIH does
not intend to make any awards based on responses to this RFI or pay for the
preparation of any information submitted or for the Government’s use of such
information.
