3 / 64
3
Dear Colleagues,
According to a recent systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease of the
World Health Organization (WHO) schizophrenia ranks globally on 11th position
among the top 25 causes of global Years Lived with Disability (YLDs) in 2013.
Despite advances in pharmacological and psychosocial therapies a large portion
of individuals with schizophrenia who require treatment do not receive adequate
treatment if any, even in countries with a well-organized health care system. Kohn
et al. (2004) identified a treatment gap for mental disorders of more than 50%
in Western Europe, for schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders the respective
gap was found to be 32,2% worldwide and 17,8% in Western Europe. Reasons
range from misallocation of resources, to lacking availability of essential services and/or therapies, missing
or not applying guidelines reflecting current state of the art, or “simply” not meeting patients’ needs.
In addition to this treatment gap we are confronted with numerous knowledge-gaps, e.g. about the
nature and causes of the disorder. We all are aware that schizophrenia is not a single, uniform entity. It
is a broad clinical syndrome which is characterised by heterogeneity of ifs genetic underpinnings, neu-
rodevelopmental trajectories and marked variation in its course and outcome. Further there is also a
knowledge gap with regard to effective therapies for certain features of schizophrenia like negative
symptoms and cognitive impairments.
Due to this situation it is obvious that there is a need for concerted research efforts to narrow down the
„knowledge gap“ and for proactive measures on international scale to close the „treatment gap“. This
challenging task is reflected in the motto of the ECSR 2015: “Bridging gaps – improving outcomes.”
According to the congress-motto the scientific programme of the 5th ECSR provides a comprehensive
overview on recent research projects and developments in schizophrenia treatment. Acknowledged experts,
young scientists, and clinicians address different facets of gaps – gaps in mental health policy and financ-
ing (availability) but also issues described as utilisation gap (acceptability of care), science-to-service gap
(translational gap), or efficacy-effectiveness gap as well as strategies to overcome non-adherence (“pre-
scribing-taking gap”) just to mention some – in high quality contributions in terms of plenary lectures,
pro-con-debates, symposia, oral presentations and poster sessions.
On behalf of the Scientific Committee and the organisers, I cordially welcome you at the 5th European
Schizophrenia Research Conference and thank you for your attendance.
Sincerely yours,
Wolfgang Gaebel
Congress President and President of ESAS
welcome address