No Longer Exclusive to Madness: The Impact of Involvement in Mental Health Research on Graduate Research Assistants

Background and Purpose: There is a long history of using graduate research assistants (RA) in the research process, as they play a critical role in the creation and advancement of scientific knowledge. Therefore, investigating the impact of their involvement in research is needed to address this critical gap in literature. The current study examines the impact of involvement in mental health research on graduate research assistants in Ghana. The primary research questions in this study are: What were the mental health views of Ghanaian graduate research assistants before participating in a mental health research project? How did their involvement in the research process improve their mental health awareness? Understanding the answers to these questions can provide guidance for research supervisors as they support the educational and professional development of graduate research assistants.

Methods: An exploratory qualitative research design was employed to investigate the impact of involvement in mental health research among 13 graduate research assistants in Ghana. Data collection for this study involved semi-structured interviews conducted through two focus groups. The first focus group was conducted with research assistants working in Tamale and consisted of seven participants who were between the ages of 28 years to 35 years. The majority of the Tamale focus group participants were married (71%) and identified as Muslim (86%). The second focus group was conducted with research assistants working in Accra. The Accra focus group consisted of six participants who were between the ages of 23 years to 30 years. 100% of the Accra focus group participants were single and identified as Christian. The data analysis process followed the six phases of thematic analysis, which include (1) data familiarization, (2) generating codes, (3) constructing themes, (4) reviewing themes, (5) defining themes, and (6) writing-up the results.

Results: Three themes emerged from the data that captured and described participants’ views on mental health before and after engaging in a mental health research project. The three themes included: 1) mental health is a misunderstood social problem, 2) mental health is an overlooked social problem, and 3) mental health perceptions are influenced by cultural factors. Our results demonstrated that misconceptions about mental health were prevalent among participants prior to their involvement in the research project. The participants initially associated mental health with severe mental illness, or madness, suggesting there is limited public awareness surrounding mental health as a broader construct encompassing physical, emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing. By conducting qualitative interviews as part of a mental health research project, the graduate research assistants developed a more holistic conceptualization of mental health, which suggests that active involvement in research can serve as an educational tool to disseminate mental health literacy in Ghana.

Conclusion and Implications: Findings highlight the importance of institutions of higher education supporting the educational and professional development of graduate research assistants. Furthermore, mental health researchers need to also consider the broader implications of graduate research assistants’ involvement in the research process as a tool for mental health education and advocacy.