UC Research Profile - University of Canterbury

Dr Kaaren Mathias

Contact

Department: School of Health Sciences

Email: kaaren.mathias@canterbury.ac.nz

Direct Dial: +64 3 3691664

Office: Rehua Level 3

Languages: English, Hindi, Spanish

I work, teach and research in mental health in communities with a focus on equity, young people and social inclusion and community health systems.

About

Research / Creative works

Methods & Equipment

Researcher Summary

I am a public health physician and researcher with a wide range of research interests which include participation, inclusion and mental health in communities. I used mixed methods although qualitative research is my favourite research (so complex and nuanced). I work in public health in New Zealand and India, and with the team in India. I am founder/ director Burans (www.burans.org) and we have developed interventions (Nae Disha, Nae Umeed, Swasthya Labh Saadan) that have been adopted and scaled. Until recently I was the South East Asia regional board member of Health Systems Global.

Subject Area: Disciplines

Health and Health Sciences: Clinical Medicine ; Critical Health Studies ; Epidemiology ; Mental Health ; Population health ; Public Health ; Wellbeing

Research/Scholarly/Creative Works

Journal Articles

Heap CJ., Jennings HM., Mathias K., Gaire H., Gumbonzvanda F., Gumbonzvanda N., Gupta G., Jain S., Maharjan B. and Maharjan R. (2022) Participatory mental health interventions in low-income and middle-income countries: a realist review protocol. BMJ Open 12(4) http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-057530.

Jonsson F., Pat P., Mulubwa C., Jegannathan B. and Mathias K. (2022) Conducting research with young people at the margins – lessons learnt and shared through case studies in Cambodia, India, Sweden and Zambia. BMC Public Health 22(1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14427-8.

Mathias K., Nayak P., Singh P., Pillai P. and Goicolea I. (2022) Is the Parwarish parenting intervention feasible and relevant for young people and parents in diverse settings in India? A mixed methods process evaluation. BMJ Open 12(2) http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-054553.

Mathias K., Rawat M., Thompson A., Gaitonde R. and Jain S. (2022) Exploring Community Mental Health Systems – A Participatory Health Needs and Assets Assessment in the Yamuna Valley, North India. International Journal of Health Policy and Management 11(Special Issue): 90-99. http://dx.doi.org/10.34172/IJHPM.2020.222.

Gandhi S., Mathias K., Seefeldt L. and Delaney T. (2021) The inconvenient truth of illiteracy inequality intersectionality of socio-demographic disadvantage. Economic and Political Weekly 56(34): 61-71.

Kermode M., Grills N., Singh P. and Mathias K. (2021) Improving Social Inclusion for Young People Affected by Mental Illness in Uttarakhand, India. Community Mental Health Journal 57(1): 136-143. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00623-6.

Mathias K., Corcoran D., Pillai P., Deshpande S. and Sebastian MS. (2021) The effectiveness of a multi-pronged psycho-social intervention among people with mental health and epilepsy problems-a pre-post prospective cohort study set in North India. International Journal of Health Policy and Management 10(9): 546-553. http://dx.doi.org/10.34172/ijhpm.2020.62.

Mathias K., Nagesh S., Varghese S., Qadeer I. and Bhan A. (2021) The absurdity of research registration for community-oriented knowledge coproduction. BMJ Global Health 6(8) http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2021-007040.

Mathias K., Rawat M., Philip S. and Grills N. (2020) “We’ve got through hard times before: acute mental distress and coping among disadvantaged groups during COVID-19 lockdown in North India - a qualitative study”. International Journal for Equity in Health 19(1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12939-020-01345-7.

Gailits N., Mathias K., Nouvet E., Pillai P. and Schwartz L. (2019) Women's freedom of movement and participation in psychosocial support groups: Qualitative study in northern India. BMC Public Health 19(1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7019-3.

Mathias K. and Burke M. (2019) Dignity and Right to health award: ICMDA leadership in Christian health and development initiative. Christian Journal for Global Health 6(1): 86-89. http://dx.doi.org/10.15566/cjgh.v6i1.277.

Mathias K., Jacob KS. and Shukla A. (2019) "We sold the buffalo to pay for a brain scan" - a qualitative study of rural experiences with private mental healthcare providers in Uttar Pradesh, India. Indian journal of medical ethics 4 NS)(4): 282-287. http://dx.doi.org/10.20529/IJME.2019.057.

Mathias K., Kermode M., San Sebastian M., Davar B. and Goicolea I. (2019) An asymmetric burden: Experiences of men and women as caregivers of people with psycho-social disabilities in rural North India. Transcultural Psychiatry 56(1): 76-102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1363461518792728.

Mathias K., Pillai P., Gaitonde R., Shelly K. and Jain S. (2019) Co-production of a pictorial recovery tool for people with psycho-social disability informed by a participatory action research approach-A qualitative study set in India. Health Promotion International 35(3): 486-499. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daz043.

Mathias K., Singh P., Butcher N., Grills N., Srinivasan V. and Kermode M. (2019) Promoting social inclusion for young people affected by psycho-social disability in India–a realist evaluation of a pilot intervention. Global Public Health 14(12): 1718-1732. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2019.1616798.

Schneider H., Zulu JM., Mathias K., Cloete K. and Hurtig AK. (2019) The governance of local health systems in the era of Sustainable Development Goals: Reflections on collaborative action to address complex health needs in four country contexts. BMJ Global Health 4(3) http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001645.

Mathias K. (2018) Dupatta falls: From a pristine, green, little-known destination, a secluded waterfall and its surrounding forest becomes a regular, busy stop on tourist itineraries. Economic and Political Weekly 53(39): 88.

Mathias K., Kermode M., Goicolea I., Seefeldt L., Shidhaye R. and San Sebastian M. (2018) Social Distance and Community Attitudes Towards People with Psycho-Social Disabilities in Uttarakhand, India. Community Mental Health Journal 54(3): 343-353. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10597-017-0211-y.

Mathias K., Mathias J., Goicolea I. and Kermode M. (2018) Strengthening community mental health competence—A realist informed case study from Dehradun, North India. Health and Social Care in the Community 26(1): e179-e190. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12498.

Mathias K., Pandey A., Armstrong G., Diksha P. and Kermode M. (2018) Outcomes of a brief mental health and resilience pilot intervention for young women in an urban slum in Dehradun, North India: A quasi-experimental study. International Journal of Mental Health Systems 12(1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13033-018-0226-y.

Mathias K., Pant H. and Marella M. (2018) Correction: Multiple barriers to participation for people with psychosocial disability in Dehradun district, North India: A cross-sectional study (BMJ Open (2018) 8 (e019443) DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019443). BMJ Open 8(5) http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019443corr1.

Mathias K., Pant H., Marella M., Singh L., Murthy G. and Grills N. (2018) Multiple barriers to participation for people with psychosocial disability in Dehradun district, North India: A cross-sectional study. BMJ Open 8(2) http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019443.

Chapters

Burgess R. and Mathias K. (2017) Community mental health competencies: A new vision for global mental health. The Palgrave Handbook of Sociocultural Perspectives on Global Mental Health: 211-235. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-39510-8_11.

Journal Articles

Gailits N., Mathias K., Nouvet E., Pillai P. and Schwartz L. (2017) Transformed Women, Transformed Communities: Impact of Mental Health Support Groups for North Indian Women. Annals of Global Health 83(1): 101-101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aogh.2017.03.225.

Mathias K. (2017) At the bus stop. Economic and Political Weekly 52(8): 71-72.

Mathias K., Goicolea I., Kermode M., Singh L., Shidhaye R. and San Sebastian M. (2015) Cross-sectional study of depression and help-seeking in Uttarakhand, North India. BMJ Open 5(11) http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008992.

Mathias K., Goicolea I., Kermode M., Singh L., Shidhaye R. and Sebastian MS. (2015) Cross-sectional study of depression and help-seeking in Uttarakhand, North India.. BMJ Open 5(11): e008992. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008992.

Mathias K., Kermode M., Sebastian MS., Koschorke M. and Goicolea I. (2015) Under the banyan tree - Exclusion and inclusion of people with mental disorders in rural North India. BMC Public Health 15(1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-1778-2.

Mathias KR., Mathias JMP. and Hill PC. (2015) An asset-focused health needs assessment in a rural community in north India. Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health 27(2): NP2623-NP2634. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1010539511421193.

Varghese J., Grills N. and Mathias K. (2015) Barriers in health care access faced by children with intellectual disabilities living in rural Uttar Pradesh. Journal of Social Inclusion 6(1): 55-70. http://dx.doi.org/10.36251/josi.92.

Mathias KR. and Harris-Roxas B. (2009) Process and impact evaluation of the greater christchurch urban development strategy health impact assessment. BMC Public Health 9 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-9-97.

Key Methodologies

Qualitative methods like thematic analysis are my bread and butter
I also have done a range of quant studies including RCT, pre-post measures of interventions, and cohort studies
I enjoy realist and theory based evaluations in particular as a way to assess health interventions
Critical public health, examining ethics and health systems building on primary data are another method I use.