Minority voices: Research into the access and acceptability of ... - MMC

Fieldwork in the four sample areas also generated some information from practitioners aboutactivity within CAMHS and about services working with BME communities.The mapping process included reviewing all available service paperwork such as service annualreports, evaluation reports, leaflets for parents/young people and information for referrers. Asfar as possible, information was gathered from across all regions of England and Wales.In-depth study! The sample areasThe sample areas in which the main data gathering took place were drawn from acrossEngland and Wales and were selected for a number of reasons. In each area it was hoped togather information from around 15 young people (both those with experience of using mentalhealth services and those without) and 8-10 staff working in services for young people, fromboth statutory and voluntary sector services.Of the four areas selected one was in Wales, where it was known that there were likely to beonly very small numbers of young people from minority ethnic groups - although in recentyears, there have been increasing numbers of young refugees and asylum seekers, a trendthat will have posed new challenges for service providers in the area. This area was alsoselected on the basis of encompassing both urban and rural areas.Another was selected on the basis of having an established, strongly multi-cultural population(24% minority ethnic groups). A number of the wards in this area have been identified assome of the most socially deprived in the country (and with significantly higher than averagepercentage of people from minority ethnic groups). This area was also selected on the basis ofhaving a good track record of services working in partnership around ethnicity issues and dueto its location in the south of England. The remaining two sample areas were selected on thebasis of being in the north of England and having significant groups of people from Black andminority ethnic groups. In both areas it was also known that there were active voluntary sectororganisations working with Black and minority ethnic communities.! Interview and focus group schedulesThroughout, there was a flexible approach to data gathering, in order to make the research‘young person friendly’ and to maximise the participation of young people from minority ethnicgroups. Young people were usually invited to participate in the study via a member of staffalready known to them (from a CAMHS, voluntary sector or education setting they wereusing).Young people: Significant amending and refining of the schedules was necessary as the studyprogressed due to the considerable diversity of needs and different situations presented by theyoung people. As the widespread lack of understanding of mental health and about CAMHSemerged, it was also necessary to adjust some of the questions for some young people and toexplore more broadly young people’s perceptions of well-being and where they might go forhelp.The interview and focus group schedules for young people covered the following areas: theirethnic background; their sources of social support; their use of services and for what reasons;how they had initially contacted services; how long it took to access help; practical problems inaccessing help; their views of staff within services, service settings and locations and generalviews about the help they received.Young people were also asked if there was help that they felt they needed that they had notreceived; the other types of services they had heard of or were interested in and their family’sunderstanding of their difficulties and of the source of help available. Specific questionsexplored how they thought services could be improved, and how information about servicesmight be improved and more effectively disseminated.Minority Voices Research Report17