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Community development approaches to working with groups of people with mental health problems to promote race equality in mental health
- Author:
- SEEBOHM Patience
- Journal article citation:
- Diversity in Health and Care, 7(4), November 2010, pp.249-260.
- Publisher:
- Radcliffe Publishing
Many black and minority ethnic people report experiencing fear or alienation in UK mental health services. Community development involves people coming together to address shared concerns and community development workers (CDWs) support these processes, promoting justice and equality. In 2005 they were introduced within mental health services. This study explores the role of CDWs working with peer-led groups. It begins with a survey to find out which CDWs worked in the area of mental health, what this involved and how they felt about the work. A total of 46 CDWs responded to the survey; about 11% of the workforce. Most worked with people with mental health problems to promote inclusion, well-being and engagement, and four sought to help groups to pursue their own goals. Nine CDWs were interviewed in depth. Three distinct approaches were identified. The first supported service user-led groups to address the power imbalance in services, the second supported community-led groups to promote social inclusion, and the third focused on policy implementation and outputs. Differences were associated with CDWs' previous experiences of mental health and their workplace. The authors caution against other then tentative conclusions because of the small sample size, but suggest that CDWs can promote race equality in mental health services, using diverse approaches to community development. However it was noted that few appear to help service user-led groups pursue radical change.