NIHR Global Health Research Group on Psychosis Outcomes: the Warwick-­India-Canada {WIC} Network, The University of Warwick

Our aim is to reduce burden of psychotic disorders in India. We will improve patient outcomes by applying evidence-informed culturally-tailored interventions to clinical care, provide high quality research evidence to policy makers, exploit the potential of digital/mobile technologies, and build research and innovation capacity in India, UK and Canada. INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHS University of Warwick (UOW) is ranked 7th for research in the UK. The University’s Global Research Priorities Programmes includes International Development and Science and Technology for Health and applies UOW’s academic excellence to global challenges including early diagnosis and treatment in LMICs. Warwick Medical School (WMS) led three major UK reforms in the last two decades: early intervention in psychosis, youth mental health, and ethnic minority mental health. Warwick Business School has expertise in implementing evidence into practice in complex healthcare systems. The Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF) is a Chennai-based non-profit voluntary organisation providing care to patients with psychoses and a WHO Collaborating Centre for schizophrenia research, the only such Asian NGO. It is recognised as a leading research organisation by the Indian Government’s Department of Science and Technology. It has successfully translated research into improved clinical practice and outcomes with models of community and home-based interventions. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi was established in 1956 to develop undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and research (2000 scientific publications p.a). Department of Psychiatry has provided postgraduate training programme since 1962 and hosts the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, a WHO Collaborating Centre. McGill’s mental health research is a prominent strength, including its leadership of a Canada-wide youth mental health service reform, ACCESS Open Minds, and PEPP-Montréal, Canada’s premiere research programme for FEP, located in a WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health. McGill’s Global Health programme prioritises enhancing research capacity in LMICs. PARTNERSHIPS We share interests in biopsychosocial interventions in psychotic disorders and a strategic vision to reduce the burden of psychotic disorders. We have complementary expertise in psychosis care, community psychiatry and youth mental health. Existing collaborations include: • UOW-McGill: International partnerships: International Association for Youth Mental Health and Early Intervention in Psychosis movement • UOW-AIIMS: World Association of Social Psychiatry Conference 2016, New Delhi • McGill-SCARF: Joint research on outcomes in psychosis, especially functional recovery • McGill-SCARF: Biennial International Conference on Schizophrenia. PROGRAMME OF ACTIVITIES RATIONALE: Psychotic disorders afflict the young, rob them of productive years, cause huge suffering, and place enormous burden on families and society. The most significant reform in mental health care since deinstitutionalisation has been early intervention in psychosis services, shown to be clinically and cost-effective in reducing duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), and enhancing symptomatic and functional recovery, enabling young people returning to education or work [1,2,3,4]. With a 1.2 billion population and 5,000 psychiatrists, India has a large pool of undetected and untreated psychosis patients and a 75% treatment gap in psychotic disorders [5]. Evidence-based packages of care have been piloted but delivery of treatments is a challenge [6,7,8]. Even when patients access care, there is no continuity; treatment is sporadic and focused on symptomatic control rather than recovery [9]. WINDSOR will create capacity for the early identification and treatment of psychosis patients who don’t have access to mental health care. Such first-episode psychosis (FEP) cohorts