SHAMIL: British South Asian recruitment into Mental Health Research in the UK

Problem

Recruitment of ethnic communities to research is problematic, and researchers lack skills to recruit ethnic communities to clinical trials. Low cultural competence and limited resources discourage ethnic recruitment to trials.Up till now, as there are is no cultural training available for research staff, therefore, it been proposed to have specialised training provisions which could equip researchers with the skills and the confidence to work with ethnic minorities leading to an increased ethnic recruitment.A specialised culturally sensitive recruitment intervention called SHAMIL (Urdu & Arabic word means to “include”) is developed. The aim of the intervention is to equip researchers and clinical research teams with the skills and the confidence to work with ethnic minorities leading to increased ethnic recruitment in mental health trials. Preliminary evaluation of SHAMIL recruitment intervention revealed positive outcomes in terms of the researcher’s knowledge, confidence and skills to recruit ethnic communities in research. Aim: Assessing the acceptability and impact of SHAMIL intervention to increase participation of British South Asians in mental health trial.

Approach

We have worked with the CHEMIST an NIHR PHR funded trial team and have implemented SHAMIL intervention. The implementation of SHAMIL intervention includes translation and adaptation of CHEMIST materials, delivery of cultural competence recruitment training to the recruitment staff and ongoing support to the staff about the recruitment of British South Asian population. The therapy manual has also been culturally adapted and these strategies will facilitate ethnic recruitment into this trial. We have also recruited 3 community pharmacies in Blackburn that will recruit and deliver the intervention. A mixed methods feasibility study with the qualitative evaluation to explore the feasibility and acceptability of SHAMIL recruitment intervention has been used. The feasibility study is case-control in design aiming to determine if SHAMIL recruitment intervention will lead to an increased ethnic recruitment outcome.

Findings

No results available at this stage.

Consequences

This SHAMIL-CHEMIST partnership provides a unique opportunity to develop a new model to enhance recruitment of ethnic minorities to clinical research. By introducing and testing culturally specific recruitment intervention in a trial will enhance evidence base related to recruitment methodologies for ethnic minorities to mental health trials. No such initiative has been developed in the past and our research team is breaking new grounds with possibilities of rolling out SHAMIL in future clinical trials. This recruitment intervention can potentially enhance the efficiency, performance and sustainability of health trials. Further enhancing NHS R&D efficiency, performance and sustainability through SHAMIL recruitment intervention.