New online repository showcasing decades of mental health research launches

St Patrick’s Mental Health Services (SPMHS) has launched a new online collection of mental health research.

St Patrick’s Institutional Repository (SPIRE) is the first of its kind to focus exclusively on mental health related research. It currently makes over 500 research items more accessible to researchers, clinicians, and service users, and will continue to grow in future.

SPIRE aims to support and increase the impact of mental health research and to ensure the voices of people who experience mental health difficulties and participate in research are heard.

This marks a significant step forward in sharing decades of ground-breaking research from Irish researchers here at SPMHS, Trinity College Dublin and more.

Developed by our Academic Institute, SPIRE includes research from a variety of mental health disciplines, such as psychiatry, psychology, nursing, and pharmacy. The collection covers the last two decades and highlights both established and emerging evidence in mental healthcare.

Speaking of the milestone SPIRE represents, Dr Gráinne Donohue, Programme Manager of our Academic Institute, said; “As Ireland’s oldest mental health service, SPMHS has been at the forefront of advancing mental health through research for over 135 years. The launch of SPIRE represents an exciting step forward in how we share and understand research, while at the same time ensuring that research is service user-led and that the voices of those with lived experiences are better amplified.”

“Over the coming years, the Academic Institute will continue to enhance evidence-based understanding of mental health difficulties, and their treatment, through research and collaboration with key academic and clinical research partners. It is our hope that SPIRE will become a leading resource for mental health service users, researchers and academics, and the wider community both at a national and international level.”

The role of research in mental health

Speaking about the importance of research in mental health, Professor Paul Fearon, our Medical Director, and Director of our Academic Institute, said: “Pioneering research in mental health is essential to driving forward meaningful change in treatment approaches, reducing stigma, and ultimately ensuring that everyone affected by mental health difficulties has the best opportunity to receive the most effective evidence-based care.”

“While advancing research, we must at the same time ensure that any associated findings are as accessible as possible to those who would benefit most from them. Through the collation of decades long research efforts from SPMHS and research partners into one central location on SPIRE, it is our aim that evidence-based insights, across a range of clinical disciplines, can be more widely accessed and understood; both at health professional and service user level.”

The repository is set to become an important resource for service users, healthcare professionals, and academics, both in Ireland and globally. Some of the most recent research available on SPIRE covers key issues in mental health, including:

• Antipsychotic-induced weight gain management: Patient experiences and preferences
• Climate change and health: The role of health professionals
• Shared decision-making interventions in the choice of antipsychotic prescription in people living with psychosis
• Virtual mental health inpatient wards: From inception to implementation
• The relationship between interpersonal trauma and psychosis
• Impact of COVID-19 on eating disorders.

Highlighting the voice of the service user

One of the key goals of the Academic Institute, and a central part of the development of SPIRE, is to amplify the voices of the service user in mental health research. Speaking about the importance of reflecting lived experiences in research, Ger Walsh, member of our Academic Institute Steering Committee, family member and mental health nurse, said: “By involving service users and their supporters in research, we can ensure that advancements in care and treatment are grounded in, and reflective of, real-world experiences, paving the way for a more inclusive, compassionate and effective mental healthcare system for all.”

The launch of SPIRE comes at a significant time, coinciding with the publication of Ireland’s first national mental health research strategy. Together, these initiatives highlight the growing importance of research in improving mental health services and ensuring that evidence-based insights are accessible to all.