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effectiveness research

reviewing past studies or conducting new studies to evaluate how well current and new treatments work, with the aim of improving the care and treatment of patients. The term is often used synonymously with clinical utility research, although some have suggested clinical utility research is a broader term that encompasses studies of additional health-related access to care. Compare efficacy research.

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Psychology term of the day

December 26th 2024

mental disorder

mental disorder

any condition characterized by cognitive and emotional disturbances, abnormal behaviors, impaired functioning, or any combination of these. Such disorders cannot be accounted for solely by environmental circumstances and may involve physiological, genetic, chemical, social, and other factors. Specific classifications of mental disorders are elaborated in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (see DSM–IV–TR; DSM–5) and the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases. Also called mental illness; psychiatric disorder; psychiatric illness; psychological disorder. See also psychopathology.