The PI, Joyce Y. Chung, M.D., is an experienced clinical psychiatrist with limited research training who wishes to develop the capacity to conduct independent research on an important public health problem, the under-treatment of mental disorders among ethnic minorities. The overall goal of this application will be to develop expertise in understanding sociocultural barriers to mental health treatment and the capacity to translate research findings about sociocultural barriers and facilitators when designing community-based intervention trials to improve treatment acceptance and effectiveness. Plans include obtaining a general background in health services research and mental health services research methods. Because social and cultural phenomena are best identified using qualitative/ethnographic methods, there will be an emphasis on their use in combination with quantitative methods. Goals of the application are: 1) to apply ethnographic and qualitative methods to understand sociocultural barriers and facilitators to mental health care among disadvantaged populations, 2) to learn about sociolinguistic approaches and methods to study process of care issues, 3) to develop research skills in mixed model approaches, clinical trials and quasi-experimental designs, 4) to develop the capacity to translate sociocultural findings into the design, conduct and evaluation of community-based intervention trials. The primary mentor will be Charlotte Brown, Ph.D., co-mentor is Bonnie Green, Ph.D., and tutorials with experts in ethnography, cultural theory, mental health interventions, race and ethnic relations, sociolinguistics, and ethical issues arising in research with ethnic minorities and when using qualitative methods are planned. Formal coursework in clinical trials, qualitative research, discourse analysis, research ethics, and community interventions are included, as are intensive programs in applied anthropology, statistical methods and programming, and mental health outcomes. The application includes three research aims that relate directly to training goals. These projects which will be situated within a low-income urban African American community in Washington, DC include: 1) cultural models of depression and mental health care, 2) discourse patterns and process of care during clinical encounters, and 3) culturally-informed pilot interventions that support the treatment of depression.
| Robins, Cynthia S; Ware, Norma C; dosReis, Susan et al. (2008) Dialogues on mixed-methods and mental health services research: anticipating challenges, building solutions. Psychiatr Serv 59:727-31 |
