School of Social and Political Science

Research interests

Community mental health, culture and health, ethnography, well being, South Asia, 'global mental health'

1. Recovery oriented mental health practice: I have developed new perspectives on conceptions of ‘recovery in South Asia and methods to addresss social inclusion for people with psychosocial disablity in practice (Bayetti et al. 2016; Mathias et al., 2019). This work seeks to understand what ‘getting better’ from mental health difficulties means to key stakeholders, namely, people with lived experience, their carers, and grassroots community health workers. We deployed these understandings to collaboratively deveop a  recovery tool  using participatory methods with these stakeholders.
2. Innovations in community mental health care: I led new research (Srinivasan et al. 2023; Jain et al., 2024; Bayetti et al. 2023; Chase et al., 2024) on how Indian mental health NGOs deliver care addressing social and structural dimensions of mental health. This has two points of focus: a) the practices and processes through which NGOs deliver psychosical care and b) the ways in which grassroots community mental health workers address the social and structural dimensions of mental health care. 

3. Mental health interventions in low-income contexts:  I lead and support research examing appropriate methods for addressing mental health difficulties in marginalized communtiies. I am a co-investigator on a  Wellcome Trust funded project on improving care for people living with psychosis in Malawi (funded from 2022 – 2027; grant protocol: Lawrie et al. 2023). In this project, I bring expertise on culturally appropriate mental health care and participatory methods. I supported the development of a foundational work package that enables the voices of people with lived experience to inform intervention development. I support data analysis from Work Package 1. I play a central role in providing methodological expertise on ethnography and domain knowledge on social inclusion to a PhD student on the project (Amos) who is examining family and community decision making in the context of experiences of psychosis. 

   I was PI on a Scottish Funding Council GCRF grant examing the ways in whcih psychosocial groups mental ill-health in South Asia. Our scoping review (Mathais et al. 2023) synthesized evidence on the contexts and mechanisms that supported positive outcomes from group interventions. 

   I supported colleagues at Burans (an NGO in northern India with whom I work closely) in foundational research at a new internvention site in the Yamuna Valley, a rural and remote part of Uttarakhand state. This research helped to inform development of community mental health programme in the Yamuna Valley. Our paper explored community mental health systems in this region through a particiaptory community assessment of assets and needs for mental health (Mathias et al., 2022). 

4. Inter- and trans- disciplinarity in global mental health knowledge production: A central focus of my research is leading and supporting work that investigates the role of different positionalities, disciplines and voices in global mental health research and practice. This theme of questioning the nature of evidence used in global mental health and arguing for a broadening of evidence bases sits across most of my research. For examples of this see: White et al, 2017; Orr and Jain,  2015 & 2016; Pillai et al, 2023; Mathias et al, 2024; Bemme et al. 2024.

I am currently involved with the following funded research projects: 

• Co-Investigator. Psychosis Recovery Orientation in Malawi by Improving Services and Engagement (PROMISE). Funder: Wellcome Trust, £3,039,622.00.   (PI: Prof. C. Hanlon, University of Edinburgh). Role: UK-lead for developing work package one.  Dates: 2022- 2027
• Co-Investigator.  Behavioural, economic and social mechanisms underlying the association between chronic high temperatures and depressive symptoms among farmers and farmworkers in India. (TOLAKARI). Funder: Wellcome Trust, £3, 070, 901.  (PI: Prof. L. Jaacks, University of Edinburgh). Role:  co-Lead work packages 1 and 3. Dates: 2025 -2030

I have been involved in the following research projects/grants:

• Principal Investigator. Co-producing a community of practice for mental health in India. Funder: ESRC Impact Accelerator Award, £11640. Dates: Jan - Dec 2022.
• Co-Investigator. Understanding and reducing the psychosocial impact of Coronavirus social distancing and behavioural changes on families of care home residents in Scotland. Funder: Chief Scientists Office, Scottish Government, £147,240. (PI: Dr. G. Palattiyil, University of Edinburgh). Dates: May - Oct. 2020.
• Co-Investigator. A Network for Studying Psychological Resilience in Low and Middle-Income Countries (NESP). Funder: MRC Confidence in Global Mental Health Scheme, £196,756 (PI Prof Andrew McIntosh, University of Edinburgh). Dates: Jan - Dec 2018.
• Principal Investigator. Scaling, evidence and social innovation in global mental health. Institutional Support Fund, Wellcome Trust awarded to the University of Edinburgh, £14, 350. Co-I: W.Kwon (UoE Business School). Dates: Jan 2018 - Dec 2019.
• The dynamics of a recovery oriented mental health approach in northern India (PI: Dr S Jain, Funded by ESRC-Impact Accellerator Award).
• Alternatives in community mental health: defining the contours of non-formal care in western India (PI: Dr S. Jain, Funded by Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland)
• Research collaborator on a mixed-methods study investigating caste identity and psychological distress in western India funded by the British Academy (PI: Dr. S. Jadhav, UCL; co-PI: Dr. B. Davar, Bapu Trust, Pune, India).
• Co-Principal Investigator on a qualitative evaluation of Alcohol Referral Team (ART) and Drug Referral Team (DRT) Services for the City of Edinburgh. (PI: Prof. Viv Cree, University of Edinburgh)
• Researcher on a Wellcome Trust funded mixed methods evaluation of a public health initiative addressing health inequalities in London. (co-PIs: Dr. A. Draper & Prof. A. Clow, Westminster University)
• Research consultant on a mixed methods study, funded by DFID and World Bank, examining the relationship between poverty, stigma and serious mental illness in two field sites in India. (PI: Dr. J.F. Trani, George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, St. Louis)

Research outputs

For upto date outputs see:

https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/persons/sumeet-jain/

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=rwxd9yAAAAAJ

If you are interested in being supervised by Sumeet Jain, please see the links below (opening in new windows) for more information:

• PhD in Social Work
• PhD in International Development

• PhD in South Asian Studies