IFPE AIMS

The International Federation of Psychiatric Epidemiology - IFPE - is an International organization devoted to the promotion of epidemiological and health services research on mental disorders. It is an independent non-profit association relying entirely on annual subscription fees. There are corporate, individual, and associate members.

The main pourposes of the Federation are:

• to promote the acquisition, dissemination and application of epidemiological knowledge in the fields of psychiatry and mental health
• facilitate contacts and exchange of information between researchers of different nationalities and disciplines
• stimulate the development of scientific research methods
• promoting the synthesis of knowledge acquired from epidemiological, clinical, social and biological research
• encourage the preparation and implementation of projects and dissemination and publication of research results
• promote scientific knowledge and skills in junior colleagues interested in the field of psychiatric epidemiology

IFPE attaches great importance to the scientific level of its activities. It places special emphasis on promoting better understanding and fruitful cooperation between epidemiologists, clinicians, behavioral scientists and other health professionals.

At a time when mental health is still one of the most neglected areas of public health, the data provided by Psychiatric Epidemiology are fundamental and substantiate the alarming situation: nearly 1 billion people live with a mental disorder, 3 million people die every year due to harmful alcohol consumption and one person dies every 40 seconds from suicide.

In addition, billions of people around the world have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which is having an additional impact on people's mental health. The pandemic has increasingly widened the impact of inequalities on a global scale in terms of health protection and quality of life levels. In this complex global framework, a further objective of the IFPE will be to follow the consequences of the pandemic, increase the support and involvement of low-income countries and strengthen the defense of the rights of people with mental disorders.