Czech Republic – euro net

Profile of the Organisation

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) originated from Prague Psychiatric Centre on 1st January 2015. The establishment of a new modern centre oriented on research and clinical care was made possible by a project financed by Operational Program Research and Development for Innovation. NIMH is meant to become national reference institution for the field of mental health.

NIMH is divided into several research programs. Research Program (RP) 4 is the Epidemiological and Clinical Research in Addictions.

The main goal of the research program

To obtain and to provide valid epidemiological evidence on the extent, context and trends of drug use in the population of the Czech Republic; and to analyze the effectiveness of prevention and treatment programs in order to reduce the health and social damage and economic losses caused by substance abuse.

Specific objectives of the program

To carry out epidemiological study on prevalence of drug use in adolescent and adult population of the Czech Republic and to study the predictors and correlates of risk behavior.
To evaluate structural and functional qualities of preventive and health care programs for persons at risk for or suffering from disorders caused by substance abuse.

To assess psychiatric comorbidity in patients with addictive disorders and to analyze the impact of psychiatric comorbidity on the course of the disorder and treatment outcome.
To evaluate the functioning of the network of opioid substitution treatment centers in the Czech Republic with the aim of optimizing the network providing subsequent psychosocial support.
To implement procedures for screening and brief interventions to reduce harmful substance use in primary health care setting and to analyze their effectiveness.
To develop web-based applications aimed at reducing hazardous and harmful substance use among adolescents and young adults.
To study the occurrence of suicidal behavior in people with addictive disorders and to develop suicide prevention program aimed at young adults, women and family members of addicts.
To evaluate the mortality of people with addictive disorders and to analyze its demographic, social and economic context.
To develop and/or adapt research instruments for epidemiological and clinical research in addictions.
To design and perform research on addictive behavior of minority population groups (sexual minorities, ethnic minorities, immigrants).

The RP 4 has got different workgroups:

• Epidemiological research
• Psychiatric comorbidity research
• Treatment research
• Psychometric studies