Priority Setting of Research Projects in Health and their Budget Support in the Fiscal Years 2002-2006 of Department of Mental Health - การจัดลำดับความสำคัญงานวิจัย และงบประมาณสนับสนุนการวิจัยด้านสุขภาพ ประจำปีงบประมาณ พ.ศ. 2545 - 2549 ของกรมสุขภาพจิต

Abstract

                       Priority setting of research projects in health is a crucial component in formulating strategy of health research.  This leads to suitable response to urgent problem with limited resources.  Department of Mental Health is a prime agency in providing fund for research in areas of mental health.  This descriptive study was aimed at investigating the mechanism, framework and criteria in prioritizing research projects as well as their budget support under the Department of Mental Health.  Retrospective data during FY 2002-2006, together with questionnaires and review of literature, were collected from November 2006 to January 2007.  Statistical approaches for data analysis included percentage and ratio.

                       The finding revealed that the Department of Mental Health paid considerable attention to research conducted with a systematic development framework to be aligned with its research policy and directions as well as the consideration period of the National Research Institute and Bureau of Budget.  With respect to research supporting budget, it was found that in the past 5 years there were a total of 152 research projects amounting to 41.541 million baht or 0.51 percent of the total 5-year budget of the Department.  The average budget for conducting a project stood at 273,297.67 baht.  Public health and social sciences were the most popular area of study accounting for 122 studiesor 80.26 percent followed by applied research for production of health products and services (9.21 %), and mechanism and supporting system (7.89 %).  These researches were conducted in the context of mental health or mental disorders.  This study suggests that there should be a budget suitably allocated for research investment at a minimum of 3 percent of the total budget of the Department.  Moreover, the Ministry of Public Health should establish a committee for directing the research strategy formulation, administrative plans, and priority setting for utilizing research.  In addition, integration of related research is highly recommended for reduction of redundancy and increase in investment cost-effectiveness.  This would also include a well-designed plan for developing researcher network both intra and inter-country.

Key words:      research, budget, priority, Department of Mental Health