SOCIAL CLASSES AND CULTURE OF POVERTY: A CASE STUDY

ABSTRACT: Disparities in social classes and their cultures prevail in all societies. There is an inequality in our society on the basis of resources, wealth, power and means of production. The aim of the study was to explore how the culture of the poor is influenced by class struggle. The method of the study was qualitative. This study used data from 100 semi structured questionnaire to better understand the effort of people. The locale of the study was in different areas of Rawalpindi. The conclusion of the study is that everyone is trying to raise their status. The people are struggling from dawn to dusk to gain status high in society

Youth-led co-production of mental health promotion in Pakistan: intergenerational influences

Youth with mental health needs face barriers in seeking and accessing help, especially in resource-constrained settings in Majority World Countries. Community engagement is thus important for mental health promotion, particularly in addressing stigma. Engagement can be enhanced by involving peer educators and by relating to intergenerational experiences in the sociocultural context of the community. The aim of this study was to explore how intergenerational experiences and perspectives can inform the co-production of youth-led mental health promotion in a Majority World Country, Pakistan. We recruited 11 families (one grandmother, mother and granddaughter in each family) as advisers from two disadvantaged areas of Karachi, and 14 peer educators. Training for peer educators included seminars, experiential activities, three participatory workshops with family advisers and supervision. A sub-sample of family advisers and peer educators attended four focus groups, and peer educators completed reflective diaries following each activity. Data were integrated and subjected to thematic codebook analysis. The three themes related to enabling and hindering factors towards co-production of mental health promotion, incorporation of intergenerational resilience and cascading knowledge to communities. The findings highlighted potential benefits of youth-led mental health promotion that contextualizes intergenerational experiences for those communities. Peer educator roles should be supported by training, and mental health promotion should be integrated within local service systems.</p

Community youth mental health awareness in Pakistan through the train-the-trainer model: Qualitative study of stakeholder perspectives

Background: Youth in low-resource settings such as Pakistan have high levels of unmet mental health needs. Mental health stigma and sparse resources are key barriers to accessing help. Aim: To capture end-users’ and trainers’ perspectives of youth mental health awareness in Pakistan informed by the Train-the-Trainer framework. Method: A qualitative research design was adopted, utilizing focus group discussions to hear the voices of those engaged in the study. Following the facilitation of four youth mental health awareness events in disadvantaged communities, five focus groups were conducted with 29 participants, i.e., mothers (n = 7 and n = 3), youth (n = 3 female and n = 7 male), and trainers (n = 9). Data were integrated and analysed through framework thematic analysis, which is a codebook approach to thematic analysis. Results: Three themes related to perceived individual, community and implementation enablers and challenges. Trainers, mothers and youth reported undergoing parallel processes of personal growth. Communities were viewed as sources of both stigma and solutions, through engagement and addressing contextual issues such as gender. Conclusion: Participants in community youth mental health awareness welcomed the opportunity to acquire and transfer new knowledge, but also identified required supports to engage and actively involve communities in Majority World Countries.</p

International youth mental health case study of peer researchers’ experiences

Abstract Background The involvement of young people as peer researchers, especially with lived experience, is increasingly considered important in youth mental health research. Yet, there is variation in the understanding of the role, and limited evidence on its implementation across different research systems. This case study focusses on the barriers and enablers of implementing peer researcher roles within and across majority world countries contexts. Methods Based on an international youth mental health project involving different levels of peer researchers and participants from eight countries, peer researchers and a co-ordinating career researcher reflect on lessons regarding enabling and challenging factors. These reflections are captured and integrated by a systematic insight analysis process. Results Building on existing international networks, it was feasible to actively involve peer researchers with lived experience in a multi-country mental health study, who in turn recruited and engaged young participants. Identified challenges include the terminology and definition of the role, cultural differences in mental health concepts, and consistency across countries and sites. Discussion Peer researchers’ role could be strengthened and mainstreamed in the future through ongoing international networks, training, sufficient planning, and active influence throughout the research process. Trial registration: Not applicable