Positively: Funding

Funding provided by the National Institute of Mental Health.

Positively: Mental Health and HIV/AIDS was funded by a research grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), which is one of the twenty seven components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) the federal government’s primary agency for biomedical and behavioral research and one of the world’s foremost medical research centers.

Authorized in 1946 as one of the first NIH institutes, the mission of NIMH is to reduce the burden of mental illness and behavioral disorders through research on mind, brain and behavior. Mental disorders constitute an immense burden on the U.S. population, with major depression now the leading cause of disability in the U.S., and schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder ranked among the ten leading causes of disability. Mental disorders occur across the life span, from very young childhood into old age.

Under a rigorous and highly competitive process, NIMH funds research project and research center grant awards and contracts to individual investigators in fields related to its areas of interest and to public and private institutions throughout the country. The Institute also maintains and conducts a diversified program of intramural and collaborative research in its own laboratories and in clinical research units at the NIH. NIMH’s informational and educational activities include the dissemination of information and education materials on mental illness to health professionals and the public; professional associations; international, national, state and local officials; and voluntary organizations working in the areas of mental health and mental illness. Overall, NIMH provides national leadership dedicated to understanding, treating and preventing mental illnesses.

National Institute of Mental Health, Office on AIDS:

• Plans, directs, coordinates, and supports biomedical and behavioral research designed to develop a better understanding of the biological and behavioral causes of HIV (AIDS virus) infection and more effective mechanisms for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of AIDS
• Analyzes and evaluates National needs and research opportunities to identify areas warranting either increased or decreased program emphasis
• Consults and cooperates with voluntary and professional health organizations, as well as other NIH components and Federal agencies, to identify and meet AIDS-related needs.