UPLIFT is a research project aimed at improving perinatal mental health support for asylum seekers and refugees (ASRs) in the UK. Many ASR women face significant barriers in accessing care, including language difficulties, cultural stigma, lack of awareness, and systemic challenges. Without proper support, perinatal mental health issues can have long-term consequences for mothers and their children.
Through collaborations with community partners, including Leeds Refugee Forum and City of Sanctuary Maternity Stream, UPLIFT works to build a community of ASR women, raise awareness, and co-produce research priorities that inform the development of more accessible and inclusive mental health services. The project ensures that ASR voices are at the heart of decision-making, shaping both service improvements and future research priorities.
Based at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and in collaboration with the University of Huddersfield, the UPLIFT team is using focus groups, digital storytelling, and social media engagement to connect with ASR women and explore the key challenges they face. The project is structured around three core workstreams:
- Engage and Spread the Word – Outreach through community partnerships, social media (TikTok & Instagram), and storytelling to build awareness.
- Build, Learn, and Share – Creating safe spaces for ASR women to share their experiences and inform research priorities.
- Understand and Prioritise – Identifying and translating the most pressing needs from a large community of experts by experience into research priorities.
As an ARC-linked project, UPLIFT benefits from expert feedback, knowledge-sharing, and wider dissemination opportunities. The research priorities identified through this project will contribute to future perinatal mental health care by informing the academic community and NHS services on what research is important from the perspective of those that can benefit most from it.
Contact details: lypft.uplift@nhs.net
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