Dawn Edge1, Henna Lemetyinen1; 1The University of Manchester, Division of Psychology and Mental Health, Manchester, United Kingdom
African & Caribbean people in the UK are more likely than other groups to be diagnosed with schizophrenia. They report high levels of stigma, contributing to delayed help-seeking and worse outcomes, including high rates of relapse and hospital readmission. Psychoeducation could improve family outcomes. However, there is no culturally-appropriate psychoeducation for Africans & Caribbeans in the UK. Our aims were to explore whether African & Caribbean people perceive a need for a culturally-appropriate resource, and what such a resource should contain to meet families’ needs. We conducted focus groups comprising patients, relatives and community members (n=25). To inform resource development, we explored four themes: ‘perceived need for an e-learning resource’, ‘content for the resource’, ‘delivery of the resource, and ‘internet use and social media’. Framework Analysis was conducted to elicit participants’ responses to themes. All groups perceived the need for a culturally-appropriate resource. Family and community members prioritised raising awareness about schizophrenia. They emphasised the need to counteract stigma. Only former patients regarded ‘relationships’ as the most important topic. Topics mentioned by other groups, e.g. ‘Raising awareness’ did not emerge as important for patients. Our findings demonstrate that African & Caribbean people perceive the need for culturally-appropriate schizophrenia resources. Our findings highlight these communities’ desire to participate in developing psychosocial interventions to reduce stigma and improve family outcomes. Generalisability of these findings should be approached cautiously due to the sample size. These findings can be applied to inform other interventions for schizophrenia for these communities.
