Pathways to Change

Surrey Minority Ethnic Forum (SMEF) and Surrey Coalition of Disabled People (The Coalition) are currently working on a research project looking at the experiences of South-Asian adults within mental health services in Surrey and North-East Hampshire.

The project is titled ‘Pathways to Change’ and began at the end of 2022. It specifically focusses on whether South-Asian service users feel that their cultural and religious needs have been accommodated for by mental health services.

The research team is made up of:
Salem Sabur (Project Lead)

Immy Markwick (Mental Health Lead)

Kirsty Smith (Peer Researcher)

Alex Hird (Peer Researcher)

So far, the research team have gathered a steering group made up of mental health professionals and service users and carers from South-Asian backgrounds, to guide the research questions and methods. A survey has been created which will soon be distributed among South-Asian community groups. During the next four weeks while the survey is being distributed, the researchers will continue reviewing literature related to the topic. This will provide background information for the research report.

SMEF and The Coalition hope this research project will shed light on the experiences of previously under-represented groups and help to improve the accommodation of cultural and religious needs within mental health services in Surrey and North-East Hampshire.

The research team plan to continue uploading blogs and vlogs about the project as it progresses. You can stay updated with the project here.

If you would like to be involved in the project or have any questions, please contact Salem: email
salems@smef.org.uk or call 07915 926 753