Although we’ve been quiet on the blog, the Connecting People Intervention project in Sierra Leone has been evolving over the past several months.

Since Meredith’s visit to Sierra Leone in July, we have been working on developing a model of practice rooted in the CPI and training programme for community-based nurses. The project considers how social interventions, developed in partnership with community members involved in mental health care, might increase the chance of recovery.

Meredith and Martin are now making plans to visit in May to meet with stakeholders in the Ministry of Health & Education, the Mental Health Coalition, the Ethics and Scientific Review Committee, and leaders at the University of Makeni. The purpose of this visit will be two-fold; firstly to continue developing our partnerships and ensure the projects meets equally defined needs, secondly to facilitate creative sessions to develop the culturally-relevant training programme. We will then return to Sierra Leone to pilot the training programme with community-based nurses and involving local research students.

This video was produced by The Centre for Chronic Diseases and Disorders (C2D2), based at the University of York. C2D2 is supported by a Wellcome Trust ‘Institutional Strategic Support Fund’ award, and funded the first phase of the Sierra Leone project, the feasibility study. The next stage of the project, including the development of a model of practice and the nurse training programme, is funded by the Maudsley Charity.