Participatory lived experience research: Barriers and enablers for social inclusion for people with psychosocial disability
Our Mental Health Programme works in a myriad of ways to improve the lives of people living with pyschosocial disability in Afghanistan.
One of the ways to improve the mental health situation in Afghanistan is to publish research alongside the mental health community and health sector work.
Recently, with the support of two colleagues from Australia (Becca Allchin and Helen Fernandes, who co-authored the paper) we have just published our second piece of research: “Participatory lived experience research: Barriers and enablers for social inclusion for people with psychosocial disability, in Afghanistan” in the Intervention Journal.
http://www.interventionjournal.org/text.asp?2018/16/3/222/246435
Mental health disorders are common in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), creating vulnerability to adverse outcomes. Despite this, there is a gap in understanding the perspectives of people with psychosocial disability (PPSD). A mental health project from Afghanistan collected lived experience narratives through semi-structured interviews with PPSD and family members. The interviews focused on individual experiences of barriers and enablers to social inclusion.
As a result of the interviews, four main barrier themes were elicited: symptoms of mental disorders interfering with social inclusion; unhelpful family attitudes and behaviour; unhelpful community attitudes and behaviours; and lack of access to quality mental health services. Three prominent enabler themes were also identified: family support and understanding, access to quality mental health services and supportive community attitudes and behaviours. In addition, onnection to supportive community and support from family was a critical finding. These results reinforce the importance of hearing from lived experience to help shape both service and community development programmes.
Of course, research is only one of the many ways we work in Mental Health. Find out more about our work in Mental Health here.