Psychosocial Interventions for Mental and Substance Use Disorders: A Framework for Establishing Evidence-Based Standards (2015)

Appendix A

Data Sources and Methods

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Developing Evidence-Based Standards for Psychosocial Interventions for Mental Disorders was tasked with developing a framework for the establishment of efficacy standards for psychosocial interventions used to treat individuals with mental disorders (inclusive of addictive disorders). The committee also explored strategies that different stakeholders might use to help establish these standards for psychosocial treatments. To respond comprehensively to its charge, the committee examined data from a variety of sources, including a review of the literature, open-session meetings and conference calls, public testimony and input, and other publicly available resources. The study was contracted over an 18-month period.

COMMITTEE EXPERTISE

The IOM formed a committee of 16 experts to conduct a study to respond to the study charge. The committee comprised members with expertise in health care policy, health care quality and performance, health systems research and operation, implementation science, intervention development and evaluation, primary care, professional education, clinical psychology and psychiatry, recovery-oriented care, and peer support services. Appendix B provides biographical information for each committee member.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Several strategies were used to identify literature relevant to the committee’s charge. A search of bibliographic databases, including PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science, was conducted to obtain articles from peer-reviewed journals. Staff reviewed recent literature on psychosocial care to identify articles relevant to the committee’s charge and created an End-Note database. In addition, committee members, meeting participants, and members of the public submitted articles and reports on these topics. The committee’s database included more than 300 relevant articles and reports.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

The committee deliberated from March 2014 through December 2014 to conduct this expert assessment. During this period, the committee held five 2-day meetings, and committee members also participated in multiple conference calls. Two public meetings were held in conjunction with the committee’s May and July 2014 meetings, which allowed committee members to obtain additional information on specific aspects of the study charge (see Boxes A-1 and A-2).

The first public meeting focused on approaches to quality measurement both in and outside the mental health care field. The second public meeting focused on approaches to quality improvement both in and outside the mental health care field, and included speakers with expertise in the fields of treatment fidelity, implementation, and health technology.

Each open-session meeting included a public comment period in which the committee invited input from any interested party. All open-session meetings were held in Washington, DC. A conference call number and online public comment tool were provided to allow opportunity for input from those unable to travel to the meetings. A link to the public comment tool was made available on the National Academies’ website from January 2014 to March 2015, and all online comments were catalogued in the study’s public access file. Any information provided to the committee from outside sources or through the online comment tool is available by request through the National Academies’ Public Access Records Office. The agendas for the two open-session committee meetings are presented below.