A co-produced service evaluation of ethnic minority community service user experiences of a specialist mental health service during the COVID-19 pandemic

BMC Health Services Research

Research

Daniel Mutanda¹  Paris Young¹  Kiranpal Kaur¹  Palo Almond¹  Aparajita Pandey¹  Anna-Marie Bibby-Jones¹  Tony Levitan¹ 

[1] Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Worthing, UK;

关键词: Ethnic minority;    Service evaluation;    Mental health;    COVID-19;    Service improvement;    Service user narrative;    Online therapy;    Access barriers;    UK;    Pandemic;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12913-023-10115-4

 received in 2022-12-29, accepted in 2023-10-04,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundFor ethnic minority communities in the UK, the COVID-19 pandemic amplified existing health inequalities and created other consequential disadvantages like increased vulnerability to COVID-19, higher rates of hospital admissions, increased mortality and poorer mental health outcomes. While longer-term impacts of COVID-19 are considered, it is crucial for NHS mental health services to understand the specific barriers and needs of ethnic minority communities to provide consistent and equitable access to mental health services. These aspects were the focus of a service evaluation of a Sussex-wide mental health service conducted in co-production with experts-by-experience, public members, health professionals and researchers from ethnic minority communities.MethodsCo-designed creative workshops (n = 13) and semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 13) were used to explore experiences of accessing specialist mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were: Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT) service users recruited between October 2021 and January 2022; aged 16+; from ethnic minority community backgrounds. Data was analysed using Thematic Analysis.ResultsThe analysis yielded five overarching themes contextualising service users’ experiences: (1) limited awareness of SPFT mental health services; (2) effects of COVID-19 in gaining access to SPFT; (3) SPFT reaching out to ethnic minorities; (4) being supported, 4a) hiding my mental health status from friends and families, 4b) lack of ethnic diversity in services, and 4c) better provision of information and support services, (5) relationship between childhood experiences and current mental health. These findings led to seven key recommendations for future service developments within SPFT.ConclusionsAlthough this evaluation was set in the context of COVID-19, findings have highlighted specific mental health service needs for ethnic minorities that are applicable beyond the confines of the pandemic. Many benefited from online sessions seen as more inclusive. Mental health advocates, outreach and joint working with communities could help further reduce stigmatising attitudes and improve engagement with mental health services. Improved service awareness of the impact of childhood or historical traumas experienced by ethnic minority communities on current mental health, the role of cultural awareness training and availability of culturally adapted therapies is also needed. Many service improvement recommendations provided could impact all service users.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023