We are delighted to announce Dharmi Kapadia as one of our UK Data Service Data Impact Fellows. Dharmi is a Research Associate at the ESRC Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity at The University of Manchester, talks about how she plans for her research findings to be heard and have impact outside of academia.
Most researchers start their careers hoping that their unique research projects will make a difference to the world. Whether the aim is to directly influence people’s lives for the better, change america rcs data government policy or encourage public debate on important contemporary issues. This was certainly the case for me when I first became interested in access to mental health services for ethnic minority groups, ten years ago. The ‘dream’ at that stage was to influence Department of Health mental health race equality policies with my future research.
Now I am a Research Associate at ESRC The Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity at The University of Manchester researching ethnic inequalities in mental health. I completed my PhD in 2015: an examination of how social networks influence women’s use of mental health services in the UK, using a cross sectional survey Ethnic Minority Psychiatric Illness Rates in the Community (EMPIRIC) and the largest longitudinal survey in the UK, Understanding Society.