NDLI: Qualitative assessment of evidence-informed adolescent mental health policymaking in India: insights from project SAMA

Content Provider	Springer Nature : BioMed Central
Author	Ivory, Alice Arelingaiah, Mutharaju Janardhana, Navaneetham Bhola, Poornima Hugh-Jones, Siobhan Mirzoev, Tolib
Abstract	Background The importance of evidence-informed health policymaking is widely recognized. However, many low- and middle-income countries lack evidence-informed mental health policies due to insufficient data, stigma or lack of resources. Various policies address adolescent mental health in India, but published knowledge on their evidence-informed nature is limited. In this paper, we report results of our analysis of the role of evidence in adolescent mental health policymaking in India. Methods This paper reports findings from the document analysis of key policy documentation (n = 10) and in-depth interviews with policy actors including policymakers, researchers, practitioners and intermediaries (n = 13). Framework analysis was used, informed by the components of a conceptual framework adapted from the literature: actors, policy and evidence processes, nature of evidence itself and contextual influences. Results Results show that adolescent mental health policies in India were generally evidence-informed, with more key evidence becoming generally available from 2010 onwards. Both formal and informal evidence informed mental health policies, particularly agenda-setting and policy development. Mental health policymaking in India is deemed important yet relatively neglected due to competing policy priorities and structural barriers such as stigma. Use of evidence in mental health policymaking reflected differing values, interests, relative powers and ideologies of policy actors. Involvement of government officials in evidence generation often resulted in successful evidence uptake in policy decisions. Policy actors often favoured formal and quantitative evidence, with a tendency to accept global evidence that aligns with personal values. Conclusions There is a need to ensure a balanced and complementary combination of formal and informal evidence for policy decisions. Evidence generation, dissemination and use for policy processes should recognize evidence preferences by key stakeholders, while prioritizing locally available evidence where possible. To help this, a balanced involvement of policy actors can ensure complementary perspectives in evidence production and policy agendas. This continued generation and promotion of evidence can also help reduce societal stigma around mental health and promote mental health as a key policy priority.
Related Links	https://health-policy-systems.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s12961-024-01184-w.pdf
Ending Page	19
Page Count	19
Starting Page	1
File Format	HTM / HTML
ISSN	14784505
DOI	10.1186/s12961-024-01184-w
Journal	Health Research Policy and Systems
Issue Number	1
Volume Number	22
Language	English
Publisher	BioMed Central
Publisher Date	2024-09-18
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Health Administration R & D Technology Policy Medicine Public Health Health Services Research Health Policy Adolescent mental health Evidence-informed policy India Asia low- and middle-income countries R & D/Technology Policy Medicine/Public Health
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Health Policy
Journal Impact Factor	3.6/2023
5-Year Journal Impact Factor	4.3/2023

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Incorporating research evidence into decision-making processes: researcher and decision-maker perceptions from five low- and middle-income countries

A systematic review of frameworks for the interrelationships of mental health evidence and policy in low- and middle-income countries

Enhancing evidence informed policymaking in complex health systems: lessons from multi-site collaborative approaches

Challenges for research uptake for health policymaking and practice in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review

Embedding health policy and systems research into decision-making processes in low- and middle-income countries

Improving maternal and child health policymaking processes in Nigeria: an assessment of policymakers’ needs, barriers and facilitators of evidence-informed policymaking

Lessons learned from Evidence-Informed Decision-Making in Nutrition & Health (EVIDENT) in Africa: a project evaluation

SUPPORT Tools for evidence-informed health Policymaking (STP) 1: What is evidence-informed policymaking?

SUPPORT Tools for evidence-informed health Policymaking (STP) 15: Engaging the public in evidence-informed policymaking

Qualitative assessment of evidence-informed adolescent mental health policymaking in India: insights from project SAMA

Similar Documents

Incorporating research evidence into decision-making processes: researcher and decision-maker perceptions from five low- and middle-income countries

A systematic review of frameworks for the interrelationships of mental health evidence and policy in low- and middle-income countries

Enhancing evidence informed policymaking in complex health systems: lessons from multi-site collaborative approaches

Challenges for research uptake for health policymaking and practice in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review

Embedding health policy and systems research into decision-making processes in low- and middle-income countries

Improving maternal and child health policymaking processes in Nigeria: an assessment of policymakers’ needs, barriers and facilitators of evidence-informed policymaking

Lessons learned from Evidence-Informed Decision-Making in Nutrition & Health (EVIDENT) in Africa: a project evaluation

SUPPORT Tools for evidence-informed health Policymaking (STP) 1: What is evidence-informed policymaking?

SUPPORT Tools for evidence-informed health Policymaking (STP) 15: Engaging the public in evidence-informed policymaking

Qualitative assessment of evidence-informed adolescent mental health policymaking in India: insights from project SAMA