London Met health lecturer conducts research on rural mental health services in South Africa

Dr. Rochelle Ann Burgess recently visited North West Province, South Africa to conduct research for her Early Career Research Grant.

Dr. Rochelle Burgess of the Centre for Primary Health and Social Care recently travelled to South Africa on a research trip linked to her Richard Benjamin Trust Early Career Researcher grant for 2015-16.  The award, which recognises and supports innovative early career research in areas of applied social psychology, supports  Dr. Burgess's continued work on primary mental health care in resource-poor settings.

The funded study, titled "From coping to transformation: can brief intervention treatment models create a platform for local social action against social determinants of mental health?" uses ethnographic and life history methods to explore the long term impacts of exposure to brief depression interventions on women in resource poor communities.

Her research study is based at various primary health clinics in North West Province, South Africa, and will continue until June 2016.  Dr. Burgess's study is being conducted in partnership with the Professor Inge Petersen, of the University of KwaZulu Natal and Principal Investigator of the South Africa country site of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) funded international research consortium PRIME (PRogramme for Improving Mental health carE).

A small house on the South African plain

You can learn more about Dr Burgess' work and research interests on her profile page.