Community Mental Health Partnerships
It is vital for mental health organisations to research and evaluate their programs and services to make sure they are useful and safe, and to share them and help others across the world. However, limited resources and capabilities mean this sometimes does not happen. This limits knowledge-sharing and learning, meaning people in the community continue to go missed.
We need to make sure organisations are better equipped to support, learn from and advocate for all people who use their services. This relies on cultures of accountability, equity and responsiveness.
I led a community-based research project to build and embed research and evaluation within an Australian not-for-profit mental health organisation through partnership with academics and service providers.
Across 18 months, I worked as an independent academic bridging the gap between researchers, stakeholders and service providers. I led the development of service-wide data collection processes and created research and evaluation resources to build skills and knowledge among staff.
I supported seven of my academic and community partners to write an innovative publication on critical reflections and recommendations around uplifting research within the mental health sector.
This involved a contemporary, critical analysis of power, lived experience, community-based research design and systems change.
This work represents an important step towards greater equity, responsiveness and joint action in mental health research, policy, prevention and care.
I was invited to co-lead a workshop with the National Eating Disorder Collaboration on release of "Eating Disorder Safe Principles" as part of the National 10-year eating disorder strategy (see more).
Advocacy. Equity. Lived Experience.
Click to view images and research papers
Publications:
Verma, S., Salom, C., Miskovic-Wheatley, J., Aouad, P., Sidari, M., Caldwell, B., & Maguire, S. (2024). Collaboratively building research and evaluation within a community eating disorder organisation through academic partnership: a pragmatic protocol. Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement, 17(1), 1-45.
Verma, S. (2023). A case for re-conceptualizing the 'atypical' - A lived experience perspective. The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 57(4), 1026–1028.
Verma, S. In Bloom: Supporting emerging lived experience researcher identities – reflections and recommendations from an intersectional, early career lens. Under review at Qualitative Research in Psychology.
Verma, S., Caldwell, B., Hansen, S., Pollitt, S., Hams, V., Bruce, L., Miskovic-Wheatley, & Maguire, S. Collaborative Reflections and Recommendations on Embedding Eating Disorder Research and Evaluation at the Community Level: A Case for Attention, Consideration and Connection. Under review at Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement.
Presentations:
Verma, S. (2024, Aug 22-25). In Bloom: Reflections and recommendations for supporting emerging researchers within the eating disorders landscape from an intersectional, early career standpoint [Oral]. Australia & New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED) 22nd Conference, Auckland, New Zealand.
Verma, S. (2024, Aug 22-25). Looking Out and In: Embedding Research and Evaluation Within an Eating Disorder Organisation Through Academic Partnership [Oral]. 22nd ANZAED Conference, Auckland, New Zealand.
Smith, H., Verma, S., Orr, G., Gall, A., & Gall, Z (2024, Aug 23-25). Eating Disorder Safe Principles: Thinking big and wide [Workshop]. 22nd ANZAED Conference, Auckland, New Zealand.
Verma, S. (2024, Jun 6-7). Feeding Back and In: Integrating Research & Evaluation Within a Community Eating Disorder Service [Oral]. Australian Eating Disorders Research & Translation Eating Disorders Think Tank, Melbourne, Australia.