Perceived access metric for mental health care
Official title: Developing and Evaluating a Perceived Access Metric for Global Mental Health
Funded at University of Washington · NIH-11581554 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A project to create a clear, reliable measure of how easy it is to get mental health care, especially for people in rural areas and underserved groups in the U.S. and Nigeria.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Washington NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $95,185 |
| NIH project number | 3R34MH137174-03S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11581554 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates include adults in rural areas or underserved U.S. subpopulations (e.g., Veterans, Native Americans) whose access to mental health care may be limited.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals with readily available mental health care or those not engaged with care systems may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This project will develop a theoretically based questionnaire to measure perceived access to mental health services, starting with input from Nigerian patients, providers, and policymakers and adapting it for use in the U.S. It will follow psychometric methods to ensure the questions are valid and reliable across populations and settings. By creating a standardized access metric, governments, insurers, and healthcare systems could identify gaps and guide policies to improve mental health care access.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the metric could help health systems monitor and improve access to mental health services for underserved communities.
How similar studies have gone: Similar metric development work has shown promise in capturing access perceptions, but this project expands to international partnerships and subpopulations with historically low engagement.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Washington
Seattle, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Fortney, John C. — University of Washington
- Study coordinator: Fortney, John C.
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.