We are delighted to receive funding to continue our programme of research in India, Nigeria, and Trinidad. This continues a 15 year collaboration. We hope this next phase will continue to provide novel and important insights that can contribute to improving services and interventions for people who experience psychosis in diverse settings in the Global South.
Professor Craig Morgan, Professor of Social Epidemiology, Head of the Health Service & Population Research Department, King’s IoPPN
19 April 2023
New funding to continue the comprehensive research programme on psychoses in diverse settings in the Global South
Over £3 million funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC) has been awarded to Professor Craig Morgan at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London to continue and expand one of the most comprehensive programmes of research ever conducted on psychoses in multiple countries (India, Nigeria, Trinidad) in the Global South.
The project, ‘International Research Programme on Psychoses in Diverse Settings (INTREPID III): Deepening and Broadening Knowledge of Psychoses Globally’, is a renewal of the previous MRC programme grant for INTREPID. It will be led by Professor Craig Morgan from the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health and the Health Service and Population Research Department, and involve IoPPN colleagues Professor Sir Robin Murray, Dr Tessa Roberts, and Dr Gina Miguel-Esponda.
Over 80 per cent of the world's population live in the Global South (countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania), but less than 10 per cent of research on psychotic disorders is done in these settings. This points to the importance of research in more diverse contexts to both deepen and broaden our understanding of psychotic disorders, and to inform the development of locally relevant, humane, accessible and effective services.
Building on the researchers’ prior work in INTREPID I and II, this next phase of INTREPID (III) will deliver further novel programmes of research in Nigeria, India and Trinidad through several sub-projects. Throughout the five-year programme, the researchers will investigate the medium-term course and outcomes of psychotic disorders, the possible mechanisms of risk and relapse, and the treatment in marginalised populations. In addition, INTREPID III will establish a global platform for collaborative research on psychoses, sharing research methods and data to develop and test bespoke interventions.
Lived experience will inform and shape this work throughout.
The programme will:
- Improve our knowledge of variations in outcomes, homeless populations, and mechanisms in psychotic disorders.
- Impact global research by providing a unique platform to facilitate collaboration and data sharing.
- Support provision of services and interventions in the Global South.
The programme is a collaboration with the Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF) (Chennai, India), the University of Ibadan (Ibadan, Nigeria) and the University of the West Indies (Trinidad), with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of Cambridge and University of Groningen (Netherlands) as additional partners.
Co-investigators on the project are Dr Thara Rangaswamy (SCARF), Professor Oye Gureje (University of Ibadan), Professor Gerard Hutchinson (University of West Indies), Professor Helen Weiss (LSHTM), Dr Graham Murray (University of Cambridge), Professor Wim Veling (University of Groningen), Dr Tune Ayinde (University of Ibadan).
Recent publications include:
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Professor of Social Epidemiology
Professor of Psychiatric Research
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Lecturer in Social and Community Psychiatry, Queen Mary University of London