This event is part of the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health Seminar Series.

Ethnic inequalities in the management and outcomes of schizophrenia and related psychoses remain consistent over 60 years of research. Alongside a 7-fold risk of diagnosis, Black and Mixed heritage people experience more negative care pathways, worse care experience, and poorer outcomes than other ethnic groups with high attendant costs for service users, families, services, and wider society.

NICE Schizophrenia Guidance recommends Family Intervention (FI) for psychosis and highlight the ‘urgent need’ to develop culturally informed care. However, both FI and culturally informed/competent care are poorly implemented, and FI is rarely offered to Black and other UK ethnic minority families whom might benefit most.

We have co-created and successfully piloted Culturally-adapted Family Intervention (CaFI) with people of African and Caribbean descent, incorporating innovative approaches to tackling implementation barriers and enable access to evidence-based psychological care. CaFI is a bespoke talking treatment co-created with people of Sub-Saharan African and Caribbean descent to tackle longstanding inequities in the management of schizophrenia and related psychoses.

In this seminar, we explore with Professor Dawn Edge  the challenges and lessons learned from the CaFI ‘co-production journey’ and implications for research, policy, and practice.

This event is free and open for all to attend. 

Watch the video below to hear more about CaFI:

How to join this event

This event will be held online on Zoom.

Please click here to register for your free place.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about how to join the seminar.

About the speaker

Dawn Edge is Professor of Mental Health and Inclusivity and Academic Lead for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion on ‘race’, religion, and belief at the University of Manchester.

Dawn is a member of the Board of Governors at The Health Foundation and Director of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Research Unit (EDI-RU) within Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust. She has previously served as a Non-Executive Director of NHS Mental Health Trusts and on the Board of Trustees of community organisations that work with marginalised communities.

Dawn adopts a collaborative approach to tackling inequalities; working with service users, their families, community members, healthcare professionals, and fellow academics to co-produce and implement psychosocial interventions that improve mental health outcomes for marginalised groups. Currently, she leads a national Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) to evaluate Culturally-adapted Family Intervention (CaFI) – a bespoke talking treatment co-created with people of Sub-Saharan African and Caribbean descent to tackle longstanding inequities in the management of schizophrenia and related psychoses.

About the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health

The ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health at King’s College London aims to develop research to promote and sustain good mental health in communities. We bring together a unique mix of disciplines and expertise to conduct innovative social science research on the impact of rapid social change in mental health. In realising our vision, we aim to shift public debate about mental health away from a focus on individualised interventions, towards social practices and policies that promote and sustain good mental health.