Priority-setting for mental health services.

BACKGROUND

Economic evaluation of individual interventions can have limited usefulness due to the potential for methodological confounding, particularly for those decision contexts where strategies involving multiple interventions are required.

AIMS

To introduce readers to different approaches of priority-setting, with a focus on economics-based examples of priority-setting in mental health.

METHOD

A selective review of the priority-setting literature, with particular attention given to the mental health context and economics-based approaches.

RESULTS

Six priority-setting approaches in mental health are described and assessed.

CONCLUSIONS

Priority-setting approaches that incorporate methodological rigour, due process for involving stakeholders and broad-based notions of "benefit", are likely to be of most use to mental healthcare decision-makers. Challenges, both in relation to data bases and method remain, but are within the capacity of the mental health research community to resolve.