Co-creating mental health and life-skill workshops with 12-16-year-olds from minority ethnic backgrounds during Covid-19: The impact, challenges, and benefits

BackgroundThe Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted the mental health of young people from minority ethnic communities, yet effective interventions such as mental health psychoeducational workshops shown to work for other populations have rarely been offered or investigated among this population.ObjectivesThis qualitative study examines the impact, challenges, and benefits of mental health psychoeducational workshops co-created with and for 12-to-16-year-olds from black and mixed ethnic minority groups in London United KingdomMethods12 (8 female: 3 male) black and mixed ethnic minority 12-to-16-year-olds (M = 16, SD= 1.55 years) currently attending a West London community centre co-created, participated in, and fed back on the impact of five mental health and life-skill workshops through 1-on-1 semi-structured interviews (M = 10 minutes 8 seconds, range = 3-16 minutes), which were transcribed verbatim.FindingsInterpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of the interviews revealed three superordinate themes, with a total of 8 codes clustered: (1) workshop features promoting positive mental health, (2) positive mental health outcomes and, (3) workshops features impeding positive mental health outcomes. Overall, young people perceived workshops to have a positive impact on their mental health and helped provide support in coping with the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. ConclusionsStudy findings highlight the potential benefits and barriers to entry of mental health and life-skill workshops for young people from minority ethnic communities.Clinical ApplicationsCommunity-based and co-produced workshops were perceived as beneficial to mental health by BAME young people, warranting greater consideration and implementation in practice.WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ON THIS TOPIC•Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic (BAME) young people have experienced difficulties during the pandemic and would benefit from mental health support. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS•While the efficacy of co-created and community-based workshops are known, little research has demonstrated if this method resonates with BAME young people as a way to cope with the psychological impact of the pandemic. HOW THIS STUDY MIGHT AFFECT RESEARCH, PRACTICE OR POLICY•Future research and policy should prioritise continued collaboration with young people from BAME communities, a population that is often not represented in the literature and poorly understood in terms of their support needs. This study recognises the value of community-based co-produced workshops by young people from BAME communities and believe more support in this format is needed for this group.