Black Afro-Caribbean carers' experiences of caring for somebody with severe and enduring mental health problems

This research aimed to explore further the gap in knowledge regarding the experiences of BME carers, with the objective of introducing a methodological qualitative insight into the field of caring for people with mental health problems. To fulfil the aims and objectives, the study asked: 'what are Black Afro-Caribbean women's' experiences of caring for someone with a severe and enduring mental health problem?' Design The research used face-to-face, semi structured interviews as the method of data collection, alongside Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) which was chosen as the method of data analysis. Participants Eight participants were interviewed as part of the research. They self-identified as Black Afro-Caribbean carers, were 33-79 years old, and were all female. Results Four super-ordinate themes arose from the transcripts; 'A personal and cultural understanding of the caring role', 'Getting on with the tasks of caring', 'Dealing with an imperfect system', 'Valuing support'. Conclusions The participants faced similar difficulties to other carers in terms of; the struggles involved with their caring role, the difficulties they faced with the system, and how much they valued social and professional support in their caring role. It is possible to conclude that whilst ethnicity was important in some areas, particularly when dealing with the system and the church's influence on individual coping strategies, it was not an over-arching theme. This suggests that ethnicity is not something which can be I I' 'I I t ,I '11 'I ,I ·1 Page 130 rated, but is inter-twined with multiple aspects of the experience when caring r someone with a mental health problem. 1!IJPlications The participants wanted to see change in the system in terms of the attitudes of staff, the general treatment of service users and the extent to wh ich they are included in the care of their loved ones. Therefore this research has implications for changes in clinical practice.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo