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Review
. 2023 Mar 3:10:e14.
doi: 10.1017/gmh.2023.7. eCollection 2023.

Opportunities for improving data sharing and FAIR data practices to advance global mental health

Yaara Sadeh  1   2 , Anna Denejkina  3   4   5 , Eirini Karyotaki  6   7 , Lonneke I M Lenferink  8   9   10 , Nancy Kassam-Adams  1   2   11
Affiliations
Review

Opportunities for improving data sharing and FAIR data practices to advance global mental health

Yaara Sadeh et al. Glob Ment Health (Camb). .

Abstract

It is crucial to optimize global mental health research to address the high burden of mental health challenges and mental illness for individuals and societies. Data sharing and reuse have demonstrated value for advancing science and accelerating knowledge development. The FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) Guiding Principles for scientific data provide a framework to improve the transparency, efficiency, and impact of research. In this review, we describe ethical and equity considerations in data sharing and reuse, delineate the FAIR principles as they apply to mental health research, and consider the current state of FAIR data practices in global mental health research, identifying challenges and opportunities. We describe noteworthy examples of collaborative efforts, often across disciplinary and national boundaries, to improve Findability and Accessibility of global mental health data, as well as efforts to create integrated data resources and tools that improve Interoperability and Reusability. Based on this review, we suggest a vision for the future of FAIR global mental health research and suggest practical steps for researchers with regard to study planning, data preservation and indexing, machine-actionable metadata, data reuse to advance science and improve equity, metrics and recognition.

Keywords: FAIR Guiding Principles; ethics; global mental health; low income countries; mental health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare none.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Value of data reuse in global mental health research. **Includes data from low- to middle-income countries.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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