Biography
Dr Ursula Read uses ethnographic and participatory methods to explore experiences of mental illness and social exclusion and the impact of interventions to expand access to mental health care and promote human rights. Her research is also concerned with the social and structural determinants of health and the potential of community resources, such as places of worship, for health promotion.
From 2016-17, she was a Research Fellow at the Centre de Recherche, Médecine, Sciences, Santé, Santé mentale, Société (CERMES3) in Paris, France. She worked on the European Research Council project, 'Globhealth: from international public health to global health', investigating the emergence of rights-based approaches to mental health in Ghana.
Prior to this, Ursula was a Medical Research Council (MRC) Career Development Fellow at the University of Glasgow, where she conducted qualitative research on the social determinants of health and well-being as part of 'Determinants of Young Adult Social Wellbeing and Health' (DASH), a large cohort study of young people from ethnic minorities in London.
Ursula has a PhD in anthropology from University College London, based on an ethnography of family experiences of mental illness and help-seeking in Ghana. Previously she worked as an occupational therapist in mental health services in London.
Research
- Global mental health and human rights
- Mental health in low-income settings (particularly sub-Saharan Africa)
- Traditional and faith healing
- Social determinants of mental health
Since 2005, Ursula has conducted extensive fieldwork in Ghana, focusing on the impact of mental illness on family life and social inclusion, moral and ethical dilemmas around care and consent, and the relationship between psychiatric services and traditional and faith healers. She also uses qualitative methods to evaluate community-based interventions for non-communicable diseases in the Caribbean.
Further details
See Ursula's research profile
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Read, U., Sakyi, L. & Abbey, W., 19 Jun 2020, In: Health and human rights. 22, 1, p. 91-104 14 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Read, U., 2020, Global Health and the New World Order: Historical and anthropological approaches to a changing regime of governance. Gaudillière, J-P., Beaudevin, C., Gradmann, C., Lovell, A. & Pordié, L. (eds.). Manchester University Press, Manchester, p. 103-129 Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Lovell, A. M., Read, U. M. & Lang, C., Dec 2019, In: Culture Medicine and Psychiatry. 43, 4, p. 519-547 29 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-019-09660-7
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Read, U. M., Dec 2019, In: Culture Medicine and Psychiatry. 43, 4, p. 613-635 23 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-019-09648-3
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Read, U. M. & van der Geest, S., Jun 2019, In: AFRICA TODAY. 65, 3, p. vii-xxi Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.2979/africatoday.65.3.01
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Read, U. & Nyame, S., Jun 2019, In: AFRICA TODAY. 65, 3, p. 3-27 25 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.2979/africatoday.65.3.02
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Harding, S., Elia, C., Huang, P., Atherton, C., Covey, K., O'Donnell, G., Cole, E., Almughamisi, M., Read, U. M., Dregan, A., George, T., Wolfe, I., Cruickshank, J. K., Maynard, M., Goff, L. M. & O'Keeffe, M., Nov 2018, In: Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 77, 4, p. 456-469 14 p. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665118000472
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Read, U. M., Karamanos, A., Silva, M. J., Molaodi, O. R., Enayat, Z. E., Cassidy, A., Kennedy Cruickshank, J. & Harding, S., 1 Jan 2018, In: PLoS ONE. 13, 1, e0190496. Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190496
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White, R. G., Orr, D. M. R., Read, U. M. & Jain, S., 20 Jan 2017, The Palgrave Handbook of Sociocultural Perspectives on Global Mental Health. Palgrave Macmillan, p. 1-27 27 p. Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-39510-8_1
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White, R. G., Orr, D. M. R., Read, U. M. (ed.) & Jain, S. (ed.), 20 Jan 2017, Palgrave Macmillan. 807 p. Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-39510-8