# Mental Health Research Network III

> **NIH NIH U19** · KAISER FOUNDATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE · 2021 · $2,027,584

## Abstract

Practice-based research has the potential to dramatically improve the speed, efficiency, relevance, and impact
of mental health clinical and services research. Realizing those gains will require a practice-based research
network capable of anticipating and adapting to changes in mental health care delivery, including:
• Research fully embedded in real-world practice
• Alignment of research goals with priorities of patient and health system stakeholders
• Large-scale data infrastructure available for rapid analysis
• A culture of trust and transparency to facilitate collaborative learning and improvement
We propose to expand the existing Mental Health Research Network (MHRN) to include 14 research centers
embedded in health systems serving a combined population of over 25 million patients in 16 states. MHRN
infrastructure will be enhanced to support a next-generation practice-based network, including:
• Increased engagement of patients, health system leaders, and other stakeholders in network governance
• An expanded public, open-source library of software tools and other technical resources
• More formal processes for conducting feasibility pilot projects and rapid response to stakeholder queries
• Expanded outreach to external stakeholders and research partners
This Overall application requests support for an Administrative Core, a Methods core, and four research
projects. The Administrative Core will support all network activities, including ongoing affiliated research
projects, new research projects proposed in this application, and new projects developed during the coming
funding cycle. An Organizational Unit will include executive leadership, governance, strategic planning, and
responsibility for financial management and regulatory compliance. An Outreach and External Collaboration
Unit will be responsible for stakeholder engagement and developing collaborations with new research partners.
An Emerging Issues Unit will support timely responses to emerging scientific and public health questions. The
Methods Core will support optimal use of existing methods across all network research and develop new
methods to address high-priority public health questions. An Informatics Unit will maintain and improve
network data infrastructure and disseminate network-developed informatics resources. A Scientific Analysis
Unit will focus on improving the methodologic rigor of network projects and development of innovative analytic
methods driven by stakeholder needs. These infrastructure resources will support two Signature research
projects (a pragmatic trial of eHealth interventions for perinatal depression and a real-time evaluation of new
medications to address suicide risk) and two Pilot research projects (an investigation of stakeholder
perspectives on implementation of suicide risk prediction models and a pilot trial of outreach to reduce
disparities in depression treatment initiation).

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10197802
- **Project number:** 5U19MH121738-03
- **Recipient organization:** KAISER FOUNDATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** GREGORY E. SIMON
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $2,027,584
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-23 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10197802

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10197802, Mental Health Research Network III (5U19MH121738-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10197802. Licensed CC0.

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