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2020/2021

Applied Research in Mental Disorders

Code: 43878 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
4316222 Research in Clinical and Health Psychology OT 0 2
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
David Sánchez Carracedo
Email:
David.Sanchez@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
spanish (spa)

Teachers

Nuria de la Osa Chaparro
María Soledad Mora Giral

Prerequisites

None

Objectives and Contextualisation

The objective of this module is to analyze research on mental disorders from the point of view of the interest of the research question, its clinical and social impact, the limitations of the approach made, and its diffusion. It is necessary to know how to transfer information and research results to potential users and beneficiaries in order to have immediate application. Research and clinical care for mental disorders in children and adults should have a two-way relationship, so that the results of research are applicable in clinical mental health services. However, research must also capture the needs of these services so that it can provide answers to solve them.

Critical reflection will be made on the impact and application of key topics in current mental health research by applying it directly to the student's work, taking into account the different beneficiaries (users, clinicians, caregivers, families, administrators, investors, etc.). Acquiring skills for the transfer and dissemination of research results in mental disorders will be worked on. Emphasis is placed not only on "how it is done" but also "what is the use" of clinical research on mental disorders, identifying potentially transferable outcomes and the most appropriate forms for their dissemination. It is expected that the contents of this module will help the student to: a) formulate research questions about potentially interesting mental disorders; b) generate transferable results and impact on users and beneficiaries and disseminate them with means appropriate to each context; c) identify the strengths and weaknesses of their own research; d) develop a critical spirit regarding the research developed in this field.

Competences

  • Apply the outstanding ethical principles and act accordingly to the deontological code for the profession in the scientific research practic.
  • Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Design, plan and to implement projects psychological research project in the area of clinical and health psychology.
  • Discuss the results the results on clinical and health psychology research, and contrast them with existing scientific literature and draw conclusions and practical applications.
  • Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
  • Master skills and means necessary for group work and multidisciplinar group work.
  • Pose relevant and new research questions in clinical and health psychology depending on the bibliography consulted.
  • Search for information in scientific literature using appropriate channels and integrate such information to propose and contextualize a research topic.
  • Select adequate instruments of psychological assessment for the objectives of a research project in clinical and health psychology in different fields: medical or other.
  • Solve problems in new or little-known situations within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the field of study.
  • Use scientific terminology to argue the results of research in the context of scientific production, to understand and interact effectively with other professionals.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Apply the outstanding ethical principles and act accordingly to the deontological code for the profession in the scientific research practic.
  2. Choose appropriate assessment instruments in clinical psychology and according to the characteristics of the informer.
  3. Choose appropriate assessment instruments to respond to a research question in clinical psychology and health psychology and interpret them within the context of clinical psychology.
  4. Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  5. Discuss the results of the research in the context of existing scientific production in clinical psychology and analyse the implications.
  6. Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
  7. Master skills and means necessary for group work and multidisciplinar group work.
  8. Plan research procedures in clinical psychology to transfer and disseminate results of clinical and social impact.
  9. Propose research questions which are transferable to the field of applied clinical psychology.
  10. Search for information in scientific literature using appropriate channels and integrate such information to propose and contextualize a research topic.
  11. Solve problems in new or little-known situations within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the field of study.
  12. Use scientific terminology to argue the results of research in the context of scientific production, to understand and interact effectively with other professionals.

Content

◊    Evidence-based practice in mental disorders.

◊    Applied research in mental disorders.

◊    Impact of research results on mental disorders: Dissemination, applications and products.

Methodology

The contents of the module will be worked in a personalized way through research workshops that will allow an interactive and creative learning. The workshop thread revolves around the student's clinical research proposal, and could focus on master's degree research work. The aim is to ensure that the student’s research on mental disorders is useful and applicable to final recipients, is disseminated appropriately and has a clinical and social impact. The workshops will critically discuss how research needs arise, different ways of disseminating the results will be implemented, and the products resulting from clinical research will be designed. The module is eminently practical and related to ongoing clinical research of the student.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Reading articles and reports 30 1.2 5, 3, 2, 8, 9, 6
Workshops 37.5 1.5 1, 5, 3, 2, 8, 9, 6, 11, 4, 12
Type: Supervised      
Exercise resolution 3 0.12 5, 7, 8, 9, 12
Practical activities 3 0.12 5, 10, 3, 2, 8, 9, 11
Tutorial 1.5 0.06 8, 9
Type: Autonomous      
Oral presentations 5 0.2 5, 9, 4, 12
Study 30 1.2 5, 10, 8, 9, 6
Written papers 40 1.6 1, 5, 3, 2, 8, 9, 11

Assessment

The evaluation will be made from the contributions of the student in the sessions, through the works corresponding to each workshop and from all the work done in the module integrated in the student folder.

It will be considered that the subject is passed when a weighted average score ≥ 5 has been obtained.

90% of face-to-face sessions must be attended

 Recovery: In order for students to opt for recovery, it is necessary that:

 a) You have not achieved the criteria established to pass the module.

 b) It has been previously evaluated in all the activities of the module and obtained a continuous assessment rating (weighted average score) between 3.5 and 4.9. The test will have a maximum value of 2 points that will be added to the previous note. The proof of recovery must be approved, that is, obtain a minimum of 1 point, to add the score to the previous note. Recovery will be focused on all learning evidences.

A student who has given learning evidences with a weight equal to or greater than 4 points (40%) cannot record in acts as "non-evaluable".

The document with the evaluation guidelines of the Faculty is in https://www.uab.cat/web/estudiar/graus/graus/avaluacions-1345722525858.html

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
E1. Assistance and participation in the planned activities 25% 0 0 5, 8, 9, 11
E2. Papers and reports 35% 0 0 1, 5, 10, 7, 3, 2, 8, 9, 6, 12
E3. Portfolio 40% 0 0 1, 5, 10, 3, 2, 8, 9, 4, 12

Bibliography

APA (2002). Criteria for Evaluating treatment Guidelines. American Psychologist, 57 (12), 1052-1059.  

 

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual (7th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

https://apastyle.apa.org/products/publication-manual-7th-edition/

 

APA Council of Representatives (2005). APA Policy Statement on Evidence-Based Practice in Psychology. https://www.apa.org/practice/resources/evidence/evidence-based-statement.pdf

 

Baumbusch, J.L., Kirkham, S.R., Khan, K.B., McDonald, H., Semeniuk, P., Tan, E., & Anderson J.M. (2008). Pursuing common agendas: A collaborative model for knowledge translation between research and practice in clinical settings. Research in Nursing Health, 31,130-140. 

 

Lomas, J. (2005). Using research to inform healthcare managers’ and policy makers’ questions: From summative to interpretive synthesis. Healthcare Policy, 1, 55-71.

 

Proctor, E.K.  &  Brownson, R.C.  (Eds.) (2012). Dissemination and implementation research in health: Translating science to practice. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

 

Robertson, D. &  Williams, G. H.  (Eds.) (2016). Clinical and translational science: Principles of human research. Boston, MA: Elsevier

 

Sackett, DL, Rosenberg, WMC, Gray, JAM, Haynes, RB, & Richardson, WS (1996). Evidence based medicine: what it is and what it isn't. British Medical Journal, 312, 71-2. https://www.cebma.org/wp-content/uploads/Sackett-Evidence-Based-Medicine.pdf

 

Sturmey, P. & Hersen, M. (2012). Handbook of Evidence-Based Practice in Clinical Psychology, Child and Adolescent Disorders (Vol. 1). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley

 

Wilson, P. M., Petticrew, M., Calnan, M. W., & Nazareth, I. (2010). Disseminating research findings: what should researchers do? A systematic scoping review of conceptual frameworks. Implementation Science : IS5, 91. http://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-5-91

 

World Health Organization (2014). Disseminating the research. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.