From: Preventing mental illness: closing the evidence-practice gap through workforce and services planning
 | Description |
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Entry criteria | Â |
â–ª Modifiability | The risk factor is, at least in theory, modifiable |
Other necessary criteria | Â |
â–ª The relationship between the risk factor and adult mental illness is causal | Established mechanism of action: There are clear mechanisms by which the risk factor influences outcomes (e.g. established biological pathways) |
Temporality: The risk or protective factor precedes the outcome. | |
Dose–response: Poorer mental illness outcomes associated with increased exposure to risk factor | |
â–ª Size of effect | Strength and Consistency: Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have demonstrated that the risk or protective factor is a strong and consistent predictor of adult mental illness outcomes. |
Prevalence of risk factor: the more common the risk factor the greater will be its contribution to incidence and burden (all else equal) | |
Multifinality: The risk factor features in the aetiology of multiple mental illness outcomes (e.g. different disorders) and therefore its modification may influence multiple outcomes. | |
Health inequalities: the risk factor is found to be unjustly distributed in certain population groups. | |
â–ª Identifiability | The risk factor can be identified in the population through screening and surveillance. |
Desirable criteria | Â |
â–ª Intervention opportunities | Evidence base for interventions: There are efficacious, effective and/or cost-effective interventions that modify the risk factor. |
Clustering: The risk factor clusters with other known risk factors for the outcome, suggesting interventions may be able to target multiple risk factors at the same time. |