A systematic approach to the identification and prioritization of psychological health research gaps in the Department of Defense

Currently there is no standardized, transparent process for identifying and prioritizing research gaps to guide funding of psychological health research within the Department of Defense. In response to a request for input on prioritized research gaps, a systematic approach for identifying and prioritizing research needs was developed and piloted on the topic of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in the military. An expert panel was convened consisting of six subject matter experts in military psychological health care and research. The panel created an initial list of research needs by scanning authoritative source reports, including clinical practice guidelines, and policy documents related to the topics of PTSD and depression in the military. After compiling research needs from those documents, the panel eliminated redundancies and combined gaps when appropriate, resulting in 32 potential gaps. The panel further refined these gaps based on four exclusion criteria, and then reviewed published literature and in-progress research to ascertain whether the gap was addressed by existing or ongoing research. This process resulted in a final list of 16 research gaps. Members of the panel independently applied predefined metrics and scored the remaining research gaps to allow for an objective rating for prioritization of the gaps. This process helped elucidate important methodological steps to identify and prioritize research gaps and will inform future iterations of this pilot initiative which may help guide research funding decisions.