Schizophrenia: treatment outcomes research--editors' introduction

Considerable research over the past few decades on the nature and treatment of schizophrenia has yielded important advances to improve the outcomes of this disorder. Recent action plans, including the "Decade of the Brain," the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) A National Plan for Schizophrenia Research, and NIMH's report, Caring for People With Severe Mental Disorders: A National Plan of Research to Improve Services, promise major new advances over the next several years. As research advances, it is critical to ensure that patients in everyday practice receive the most effective treatments being developed. This issue of the Schizophrenia Bulletin reviews the research on outcomes of treatments for schizophrenia and lays out an agenda for available research knowledge to be translated into practice and for future research to improve outcomes.