COVID BAME highlight: A collaborative approach to understand and remediate the impact of COVID19 on mental health in BAME communities: A pilot study

COVID19大流行加剧了社会差异，对弱势群体，包括来自BAME背景的人产生了最大的负面影响。在其他挑战中，这一群体，特别是儿童和年轻人，经历了比白人背景的人更大程度的精神健康困难，并在获得精神健康服务方面面临重大困难。该项目将使用一种合作的方式，让BAME社区的成员参与进来，包括精神健康困难的人、精神健康专业人员和慈善机构的成员。该项目的目的是：(1)用定性的方法更好地了解新冠肺炎对儿童/青年家庭心理健康和服务获得的影响，(2)评估在线照顾者技能培训的可行性和可接受性，以改善具有北京儿童/青少年背景的家庭的心理健康。人们承认，BAME社区之间存在很大的异质性，因此，这项试点研究将侧重于黑人成年人，长期目标是在其他少数族裔群体中复制研究结果。目标1的成果将是增进对柯萨奇病毒19对黑人成年人心理健康影响的了解。Aim 2的成果将是了解在线照顾者的技能培训如何适应这一人群的需求，以促进家庭的心理健康。

The COVID19 Pandemic has exacerbated societal differences, with its greatest negative impact on vulnerable groups, including people from a BAME background. Among other challenges, this population, and especially children and young adults, experiences mental health difficulties to a greater degree than people from white background and faces significant difficulties in accessing mental health services. This project will use a collaborative approach that will involve members of BAME communities, including people with mental health difficulties, mental health professionals and members of charities. The project aims are: (1) to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and service access in families of children/young adults from BAME backgrounds using qualitative methods, and (2) to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of an online carers' skill-based training to improve mental health wellbeing in families from BAME backgrounds. It is acknowledged that there is great heterogeneity among BAME communities and therefore this pilot study will focus on adults of black ethnicity, with the longer-term goal of replicating findings in other ethnic minority groups. The output of aim 1 will be improved knowledge about the effects of COVID19 on mental health among adults of black ethnicity. The output of aim 2 will be the understanding of how an online carers' skill-based training could be adapted to the needs of this population to promote mental health wellbeing in families.