Research aim: To investigate how cultural differences between patients and clinicians in mental health services are understood and managed, and how these factors influence treatment satisfaction and adherence. It also evaluates the clinical relevance of a Danish translation of the Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI).

Design: The study consists of four sub-studies that combine both quantitative and qualitative methods, including participant observations, interviews, focus groups, and questionnaire surveys. The research examines encounters between migrant patients and mental health clinicians across several outpatient clinics.

Population: The study involves clinicians (doctors, nurses, psychologists, etc.), migrant patients from non-Western countries, and interpreters who participate in mental health consultations where cultural differences are present.

Methods: Data are collected through participant observations, focus group discussions with clinicians and interpreters, patient satisfaction surveys, and individual interviews with patients. Clinicians also use the CFI in their consultations, which are video-recorded for further analysis. Quantitative data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data will undergo thematic content analysis.

Primary investigator: Laura Glahder Lindberg, Msc Public Health, PhD

Supervisors: Jessica Carlsson, MD, PhD, Katrine Schepelern, Msc Anthropology, PhD

Collaborative partner: Signe Skammeritz, MD, PhD

Publications

Lindberg, L. G., Carlsson, J., Kristiansen, M., Skammeritz, S., & Johansen, K. S. (2022). The Cultural Formulation Interview—Generating distance or alliance? A qualitative study of practice changes in Danish mental healthcare. Transcultural Psychiatry, 59(6), 740-755.

Lindberg, L. G., Johansen, K. S., Kristiansen, M., Skammeritz, S., & Carlsson, J. (2021). Negotiating engagement, worthiness of care and cultural identities through intersubjective recognition: migrant patient perspectives on the cultural formulation interview in Danish mental healthcare. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry, 45, 629-654.

Lindberg, L. G., Mundy, S. S., Kristiansen, M., Johansen, K. S., & Carlsson, J. (2019). Satisfaction with mental health treatment among patients with a non-Western migrant background: a survey in a Danish specialized outpatient mental health clinic. European Journal of Public Health, 29(4), 700-705.