Vandana Kanade/ Pune : The second phase of the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS-2) is set to begin next week across Maharashtra. This survey aims to gather critical data on emerging mental health issues, officials have confirmed.
NMHS-2 will be conducted by experts from BJ Medical College (BJMC) and Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) in collaboration with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India.
The first phase of the survey (NMHS-1), carried out in 2015-16 across 12 states, provided valuable insights into the prevalence of mental health disorders and patterns of seeking healthcare. NMHS-2 will expand on this by conducting representative surveys, establishing surveillance sites, launching cohorts for long-term studies, and engaging in implementation research.
In Maharashtra, the survey will cover 138 villages across eight districts—Ahmednagar, Solapur, Akola, Dharaashiv, Hingoli, Nandurbar, Gondia, and Jalgaon. Additionally, the cities of Pune (27 wards), Nagpur (18 wards), and Nashik (11 wards) will also be part of the survey. A total of 10,395 participants will be included in the study, which will run for eight months.
Dr. Muralidhar Tambe, head of the Community Medicine Department at BJMC, is the principal investigator for NMHS-2 in Maharashtra. The research team includes Dr. Niteen Abhivant, head of the Psychiatry Department at BJMC, along with co-investigators from various departments and a dedicated team of field data collectors.
Dr. Niteen Abhivant highlighted that the survey will also include a mental health system assessment, involving centers of excellence and educational institutions to ensure the survey’s success.
