Background The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on fractures in health care systems worldwide and continues to have a significant impact, particularly in relation to the health care workforce. Frontline staff have been exposed to unprecedented strain, and delivering care during the pandemic has affected their safety, mental health, and well-being. Objective This study aimed to explore the experiences of health care workers (HCWs) delivering care in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic to understand their well-being needs, experiences, and strategies used to maintain well-being (at individual and organizational levels). Methods We analyzed 94 telephone interviews with HCWs and 2000 tweets about HCWs’ mental health during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results The results were grouped under 6 themes: redeployment, clinical work, and sense of duty; well-being support and HCW’s coping strategies; negative mental health effects; organizational support; social network and support; and public and government support. Conclusions These findings demonstrate the need for open conversations, where staff’s well-being needs and the strategies they adopted can be shared and encouraged, rather than implementing top-down psychological interventions alone. At the macro level, the findings also highlighted the impact on HCW’s well-being of public and government support as well as the need to ensure protection through personal protective equipment, testing, and vaccines for frontline workers.
Upstanding civic action is central to individual and community wellbeing, particularly when communities comprise rich and diverse membership. Although the UK policy has advanced substantially towards the development of volunteering within the third sector, the uptake of volunteers from the South Asian community has been low. Additionally, research into the experience and meanings that this ethnic group attributes to volunteering has been exceptionally scarce. Informed by a community psychology perspective, this qualitative study conducted nine semi-structured interviews with British based South Asians to explore their personal experiences and motivations regarding volunteering for their community of belonging. Results from thematic analysis revealed that volunteering generates positive benefits in terms of individual wellbeing. Additionally, volunteering for South Asians is intrinsically tied to religious and cultural motivations. However, the findings also revealed that South Asians who volunteer often experience social injustice and marginalisation. On the other hand, these very obstacles sometimes become drivers for volunteering for their community of belonging. These findings offer valuable insights and recommendations for community organisations and governmental bodies to better promote volunteering for ethnic minorities. We suggest the adoption of cultural and religious sensitivity, along with strategies to remove barriers in access of opportunities and support for volunteering.
While reviews of evidence suggests that early intervention for psychosis can reduce risk of transition to psychosis, they also highlight that we need to understand early intervention cross culturally and for different health service models. Black and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately disadvantaged in mental healthcare settings in many Western countries and in the United Kingdom and are more likely to be treated in acute settings rather than early intervention. The primary aim of this systematic review was to explore the experiences of South Asian people accessing early intervention services. Five databases were searched, and data were analysed using narrative synthesis from 15 articles that met the inclusion criteria. Only three articles used complementary theories that examine, spirituality, and explanatory models of illness to inform their research. Looking at participants experiences, six narratives were themed as barriers to access (“declined treatment”, “systemic barriers”, “lack of understanding”, “intersectional stigma and shame”, “hardships”, “interpreters”) and six were themed as facilitators (“support systems”, “factors that influence help-seeking”, “therapies offered”, “what is required”, “no significance”, “what works well”). A recurring finding is the lack of understanding between service users and providers. Therefore, signposting needs improvement, pathways need to become clearer and culturally appropriate treatments need development based on the needs of the end user.
While reviews of evidence suggests that early intervention for psychosis can reduce risk of transition to psychosis, they also highlight that we need to understand early intervention cross culturally and for different health service models. Black and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately disadvantaged in mental healthcare settings in many Western countries and in the United Kingdom and are more likely to be treated in acute settings rather than early intervention. The primary aim of this systematic review was to explore the experiences of South Asian people accessing early intervention services. Five databases were searched, and data were analysed using narrative synthesis from 15 articles that met the inclusion criteria. Only three articles used complementary theories that examine, spirituality, and explanatory models of illness to inform their research. Looking at participants' experiences, six narratives were themed as barriers to access (“declined treatment”, “systemic barriers”, “lack of understanding”, “intersectional stigma and shame”, “hardships”, “interpreters”) and six were themed as facilitators (“support systems”, “factors that influence help-seeking”, “therapies offered”, “what is required”, “no significance”, “what works well”). A recurring finding is the lack of understanding between service users and providers. Therefore, signposting needs improvement, pathways need to become clearer and culturally appropriate treatments need development based on the needs of the end user.
Introduction Rapid qualitative studies conducted with patient and public involvement can help promote policy-relevant and efficient research. There is a need to understand the experiences of researchers, patients, and members of the public to guide the development of good practice and to determine the extent to which rapid qualitative research can be implemented in PPIE projects. Methods We conducted a qualitative study to explore the experiences of research teams that carried out studies using rapid techniques with patient and public involvement. We carried out 26 interviews with researchers, coordinators, patients, carers, service users and members of the public. Results This study identified needs which related to practical and time constraints. Rapid qualitative research tends to be limited to certain PPIE groups, and particular phases of the research process. Study findings are rarely discussed with PPIE members. The educational needs of rapid qualitative research were also identified. Researchers and PPIE members considered three main issues: a lack of training on patient involvement for researchers, rapid qualitative research training for PPIE members, and the diversity of PPIE members. Conclusion We found that rapid researchers were able to involve patients and members of the public in research despite time pressures. The challenges identified in this study can be used to plan future training programmes for researchers and PPIE panel members and develop strategies to recruit PPIE panel members from a wide range of backgrounds. Public contribution The research aim was to explore the experiences of those carrying out rapid qualitative studies with PPIE. As such, the participants of this study included patients, carers, service users and members of the public, who were interviewed individually. A lived experienced researcher and PPIE member for a hospital conducted the design, data collection and analysis of the study. The study brief was to interview researchers only. The lived-experience researcher initiated the inclusion of PPIE members as participants, therefore strengthening the study design. We shared the draft report with the PPIE participants for participant validation and to maintain a continuous feedback relationship. This led to addressing key issues in designing and involving PPIE members in more meaningful and equal ways. Whilst there is agreement on activities which centre on PPIE, there is no consensus on how to achieve these in high quality rapid qualitative studies.
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