Examining mental health in BAME communities with Sobus
Written by Shad Haibatan, Head of Organisational Development at Sobus.
Sobus' online DataDive weekend volunteers
“This data analysis has started opening doors.”
Shad Haibatan
Head of Organisational Development, Sobus
Sobus is the infrastructure organisation for the voluntary and community sector in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (LBH&F). In 2018 we started working on a BAME (Black and Minority Ethnic) mental health project with the support of BAME led organisations and other voluntary and community organisations who were interested in the issue. This included the Young Hammersmith & Fulham Foundation, Nubian Life, People Arise Now, Community Education Forum, and others.
The work arose out of ongoing concerns about the disproportionate numbers of BAME people diagnosed with mental health conditions and under the care of mental health services, and that there was inadequate service provision to these communities. This concern has been around for decades both locally and nationally.
Mapping the BAME mental health landscape locally needed to be the starting point, despite some feeling that there was already enough evidence so there was no need for additional data. Concrete evidence was important in order to highlight the disproportionate impact of mental health issues, and any inequalities in mental health provision, for BAME communities.
Finding support and data
The project sought and received data from West London NHS Trust (the main provider of mental health services in three West London boroughs: Hammersmith & Fulham, Ealing, and Hounslow); primary care data from Hammersmith & Fulham GP Federation along with LBH&F social care data; as well as our own survey of the sector.
This was a huge amount of data that included ethnic, gender, age, location, and diagnosis breakdown. We could have attempted to analyse the data ourselves but this would have been challenging on several grounds. The datasets were large and we did not have the data analysis skill-set and resources in our team, therefore the validity and legitimacy of the results would have been compromised.
A representative of Sobus attended a data project launch of the GLA Superhighways Project in October 2019, where there was an introduction to a member of the DataKind UK team. DataKind UK manages and coordinates a large number of data scientists who offer their services on a pro bono basis to undertake major data analysis, such as DataDive projects.
The connection with the GLA Superhighways programme and DataKind UK gave real impetus to the BAME Mental Health project in offering their professional support on data development, management and analysis.
Working together during Covid
As the engagement was progressing Covid-19 hit. We quickly had to adjust to meeting and working through online platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
Regular meetings were held to clarify what questions we were looking to answer and what data was needed. There was a process of reviewing the data received, clarifying data sources, validity, period, granularity — all new language to many of us. All the data scientists had an insatiable appetite for data. This was all leading to the DataDive weekend.
DataDive weekends are one off events over a couple of days where the data analysts and scientists interrogate and analyse the data in order to answer the questions asked. This was also going to be one of the first remote online DataDive weekends for DataKind UK, which would have been normally held at a single physical venue. We had no idea what to expect. We were also sharing the DataDive weekend with Citizens Advice Lewisham, who were looking at poverty and isolation issues in Lewisham and whether their services needed to be adjusted to better meet local needs.
As the DataDive weekend got nearer we were introduced to our DataKind UK Data Ambassadors, whose role was to guide and prep us for the event. We used platforms such as Google Drive and some like Slack that were new to us. Ambassadors also looked at the quality of the data to make sure it was clean before the DataDive. Weekly catch ups were arranged. They supported and reassured us throughout the process.
Our questions
Questions being addressed included:
Was there a disproportionate representation of BAME people diagnosed and under the care of Mental Health Services?
What was the service provision for the BAME community suffering mental health issues?
The DataDive took place on the weekend of 26th & 27th September. The programme ran from 9am to 9pm on Saturday and 9am to 4:30pm on Sunday. We were introduced to a large number of data scientists: 30 data scientists and analysts were working just on the Sobus data alone. The data scientists were from diverse backgrounds and organisations. They were really engaged with the project and communicated in a straightforward and non-technical way to us.
Analysts would disappear, come back, seek clarification, and go off into huddles, all done remotely. Throughout the weekend there were regular consultations with the Sobus team for clarification and updates on analysis.
Excellent analytical graphs were produced, explained, and discussed.
Key findings
Key initial findings for Hammersmith & Fulham included:
BAME communities are disproportionately represented in mental health care. Generally 3 to 8 times, in some diagnosis, higher than white equivalents
Quality of health service support was below London average
Hammersmith & Fulham has the highest rate of BAME self-harm in London
A map produced at the DataDive weekend of referrals from the BAME community: the areas with larger dots show higher referrals.
The success of the data development and analysis would not have been possible without the Superhighways and DataKind UK teams and their wonderful volunteer Data Ambassadors, scientists, and analysts. They have given legitimacy to the findings. They also provide their support for free. Although we did not know what to expect at the beginning of this journey, it’s all been very positive.
As a result of the data analysis work there has been increased interest in the project. Mental health commissioners, senior officers from the local authority, and voluntary and community sector organisations are now engaged with this work. The data analysis is just the start of the project’s work.
30 years ago I was part of a group that helped set up a BAME mental health project locally. Very little seems to have changed in terms of addressing the issue. This data analysis has started opening doors. Hopefully the various commitments to change the situation will translate into a genuine collaborative systematic community focused approach, which will deliver more effective, culturally appropriate mental health services to all communities.
