There are longstanding concerns that racially minoritised people in the UK are more likely to be compulsorily admitted to mental health units and are over-represented in crisis/ acute mental healthcare pathways. There are also concerns that social care pathways are not accessed equitably, and access to social care may play a role in preventing later adverse mental healthcare experiences. Research in this area is usually through health records however our understanding has been hampered by a lack of information on people’s social and economic experiences, which are frequently missing or captured poorly in healthcare records. In addition, it is clear that people may take multiple and diverse pathways into mental healthcare, an understanding of these care pathways, in particular the interacting role of social care with mental healthcare, has been limited. Understanding interactions between mental health and social care providers could help to illuminate ‘protective’ factors which may prevent crisis inpatient mental health unit admissions.
To address these gaps in knowledge, this project will utilise two ethically approved linked datasets, covering a large catchment area of 1.3 million people in southeast London. The first dataset brings together more than 220,387 mental health records, linked to census from England at person-level. The second linkage brings together social care data from Lambeth at person-level linked to mental health service provision data. Both linkages are the first of their kind in the UK, helping to bridge gaps in knowledge, relating to mental healthcare service provision, and providing service providers unique insights into health inequities in service provision. For this PHD studentship, being able to work with these data will provide unique training opportunities in analyses with large-scale linked data, and in advanced quantitative methods.
Our non-academic/ CASE partner (Lambeth council/ Lambeth Health Determinants Research Collaboration-HDRC) will work closely with the student to support all elements of the research, provide training opportunities, alongside a work internship in local government, and additional funding support towards the studentship. The student will work with local communities in south London (through Lambeth’s community knowledge network) to develop research questions, inform study design, interpret study findings and co-produce dissemination plans.
The main objectives of this study will be to understand how differing social positions which intersect with race/ ethnicity, (e.g. by gender, age, religion and other indicators) are associated with inequities in pathways into mental healthcare and involuntary admissions. In addition, the analyses will help to identify indicators in social care (eg. social care contacts and use, carer involvement) which may be ‘protective’ or preventative of crisis inpatient mental health unit admissions.
We envisage that the partnership with Lambeth council may lead to actionable policy recommendations which will attend to inequities impacting access and outcomes of secondary mental healthcare, amongst racially minoritised people. Findings from this study could inform local government policy-making and commissioning, ultimately improving the quality and equity of services provided to local populations.
How to apply:
- Details on how to apply can be found here: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study-legacy/funding/bridging-data-for-equity
- Applicants should also complete the online LISS-DTP Diversity Monitoring Form
- The closing date for applications is 24 February 2025
- Interviews will be held on w/c 10th or 17th March 2025
- This project is offered as full-time only
- For any queries contact jayati.das-munshi@kcl.ac.uk