Understanding mental health & treatment access among SLs in Lond V01
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding mental health and treatment access among Sierra Leoneans and their carers in London..
IRAS ID
140033
Contact name
Jennifer Liebscher
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Greenwich
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Between 2001 and 2011, the Office of National Statistics (ONS, 2011) estimated that around 17,600 people from Sierra Leone migrated to the UK and are mostly resident in the south east of London. Sierra Leoneans originate from a country where 12% of the population suffer from some form of mental disorder (World Health Organisation, 2002; Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS), 2004) and 7% with severe mental illness (MOHS, 2009). However there has not been any research into the understanding of mental illness among service users and carers from Sierra Leone based in the UK. This qualitative case study will be the first one exploring and building a detailed picture of the types of explanations of mental illness they hold, and how these contribute to accessing mental health treatment services in the UK. The case study will allow the participants to explain certain features of mental illness and how each contributes to the service user's admission to a mental health unit. The study will also explore whether there are any variations in their understanding within a group or between the different groups chosen for the study.
.REC name
London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/0621
Date of REC Opinion
3 Jul 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion