Raghu Raghavan

Professor Raghu Raghavan

Job: Professor of Mental Health

Faculty: Health and Life Sciences

School/department: School of Nursing and Midwifery

Research group(s): Nursing and Midwifery Research centre

Address: 海角社区, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH.

T: +44 (0)116 201 3831

E: rraghavan@dmu.ac.uk

W: /nursingandmidwifery

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Personal profile

Raghu’s clinical background is in health psychology and nursing, with expertise in participatory research and co-production. His research is encapsulated by four overarching, but inter-related themes which address issues in mental health, disability and wellbeing: improving access to services/interventions, user involvement, practice and service development, cultural diversity and inclusion.

His current research consists of exploring the conceptualisation of dementia in minority ethnic communities; faith, belief systems and mental health recovery; mental health literacy and research participation from diverse ethnic communities.

He has published widely on disability, ethnicity and service improvement. He is currently editing a book on Mental Health, Ethnicity and Cultural Diversity: Exploring narratives for transformative services. He is director of Mary Seacole Research Centre and is also co-ordinating the International Transcultural Mental Health Network.

Research group affiliations

Nursing and Midwifery Research Centre
Centre for Social Action
Mary Seacole Research Centre
Youth Community and Education
Health Policy Research

Publications and outputs

dc.title: Supporting the mental health of young people from ethnically diverse groups during the transition from primary to secondary school dc.contributor.author: Cunningham, Emily; Raman, Sneha; Taylor, Andrea; Svirydzenka, N.; Siddiqi, Abdul-Moiz; Abdinasir, Kadra; Raghavan, Raghu dc.description.abstract: Background: The transition from primary to secondary school is a pivotal period in young people鈥檚 lives and can significantly impact their mental health. However, the experiences of young people from ethnically diverse groups during this crucial period of physical, social and emotional development are under-researched, limiting the evidence base for meaningful support. Objectives: This study explored the experiences of young people from ethnically diverse groups during primary-secondary school transition and co-designed ideas for culturally sensitive support. It explicitly focused on the intersection between ethnic and cultural identity, primary-secondary transition and mental health. Methods: The study employed participatory design to collaborate with seven young people from ethnically diverse groups and a peer researcher. Four online workshops mapped participant experiences and ideas concerning the primary-secondary transition, identity and mental health. These were developed into implications for practice, policy and research. Results: Participants highlighted feeling unprepared for the transition, with some experiencing poor mental health and difficulty navigating their ethnic and cultural identity during this time. Participants鈥� ideas for future transition experiences included: supporting a longer transition period, schools promoting diversity among students and staff, enabling education on ethnicity and culture, breaking stereotypes, enabling mutual learning among staff and students and enabling an open and caring environment to support mental health. Conclusions: The study provides an in-depth understanding of experiences of young people from ethnically diverse groups during primary-secondary transition and suggests ways of supporting multi-faceted transitions and mental health, with a key focus on ethnic and cultural identity formation. dc.description: open access article
dc.title: How do Muslim service users, caregivers, and community members in Malappuram, Kerala, use their faith to address the challenges associated with mental ill health? dc.contributor.author: Raghavan, Raghu; Brown, Brian J.; Hussain, Saliah; Kumar, Sanjana; Wilson, Amanda; Svirydzenka, N.; Kumar, Manoj; Ali, Ameer; Chandrasekharan, Anagha; Soletti, Asha Banu; Lakhanpaul, Monica; Iyer, Meena; Venkateswaran, Chitra; Dasan, Chandra; Sivakami, Muthusamy; Manickam, Sam; Barrett, Andy; Wilson, Mike dc.description.abstract: Our aim was to explore the role religion and spiritual beliefs play in dealing with the challenges associated with mental ill health among the Muslim community in Malappuram, Kerala. Twenty-four interviews were conducted with patients of Islamic faith diagnosed with a mental health condition (n鈥�=鈥�10) in urban (Ponnani) and rural (Vailathur) area of Malappuram, a Muslim majority district in Kerala, their family carers (n鈥�=鈥�8) and community members (n鈥�=鈥�6). Four key themes were derived, namely (1) Attribution to supernatural factors, (2) Relying on 鈥淕od鈥檚 will鈥�, (3) Prayer, and (4) Traditional healing. Faith was seen to be a prerequisite for any treatment, including modern medicine, to work. Even within a single faith group there can be considerable variation in belief and practice, with more pious participants disapproving of the reliance on local traditional healers and belief systems, highlighting the value of paying attention to the detail of local beliefs and practices. dc.description: open access article
dc.title: Interventions to promote the health and well-being of children under 5s experiencing homelessness in high-income countries: a scoping review dc.contributor.author: Tu, Yanxin; Sakar, Kaushik; Svirydzenka, N.; Palfreyman, Zoe; Perry, Yvonne Karen; Ankers, Matthew; Parikh, Priti; Raghavan, Raghu; Lakhanpaul, Monica dc.description.abstract: Objectives Homelessness among families with children under 5 residing in temporary accommodation is a growing global concern, especially in high-income countries (HICs). Despite significant impacts on health and development, these 鈥榠nvisible鈥� children often fall through the gaps in policy and services. The study鈥檚 primary objective is to map the content and delivery methods of culturally sensitive interventions for children under 5 experiencing homelessness in HICs. Design A scoping review guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews checklist. Data sources Databases include PubMed, Medline, SCOPUS, The Cochrane Library and Google Scholar were searched up to 24 March 2022. Eligibility criteria This scoping review includes studies that describe, measure or evaluate intervention strategies aimed at improving child health programmes, specifically those yielding positive outcomes in key areas like feeding, nutrition, care practices and parenting. Data extraction and synthesis Articles were selected and evaluated by two independent reviewers, with a dispute resolution system involving a third reviewer for contested selections. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using various tools including the Risk of Bias (RoB) tool, Cochrane RoB V.2.0, the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Non-randomized Studies (RoBANS) and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE), each selected according to the type of article. Results The database search yielded 951 results. After deduplication, abstract screening and full review, 13 articles met the inclusion criteria. Two predominant categories of intervention delivery methods were identified in this research: group-based interventions (educational sessions) and individual-based interventions (home visits). Conclusion This review highlights effective interventions for promoting the health and well-being of children under 5 experiencing homelessness, including educational sessions and home visits. Research has supported the importance of home visiting to be instrumental in breaking down language, cultural and health literacy barriers. dc.description: open access article
dc.title: Multiple Mental Health Literacies in a Traditional Temple Site in Kerala: The Intersection between Beliefs, Spiritual and Healing Regimes dc.contributor.author: Raghavan, Raghu; Horne, Francesca; Ram Kamal, Sreedevi; Parameswaran, Uma; Raghu, Ardra; Wilson, Amanda; Venkateswaran, Chitra; Svirydzenka, N.; Lakhanpaul, Monica; Dasan, Chandra; Brown, Brian J. dc.description.abstract: The notion of 鈥榤ental health literacy鈥� has been proposed as a way of improving mental health problem recognition, service utilisation and reducing stigma. Yet the idea embodies a number of medical-model assumptions which are often at odds with diverse communities鈥� spiritual traditions and local belief systems. Twenty participants were recruited to this study consisting of mental health service users (N = 7), family carers (N = 8) and community members (N = 5) in a temple town in Kerala, South India participated in semi structured interviews exploring the variety of beliefs and practices relating to mental health. Our findings indicate that the issue may be better understood in terms of multiple mental health literacies which people deploy in different circumstances. Even those sceptical of traditional and spiritual approaches are knowledgeable about them, and the traditional practices themselves often involve detailed regimes of activities aimed at effecting an improvement in the person鈥檚 mood or condition. Therefore, we argue it is appropriate to consider mental health literacy not as a unitary universal phenomenon but instead as a mosaic of different literacies which may be deployed in different settings and in line with different experiences and which may operate in synergy with each other to enable treatment but also facilitate a sense of meaning and purpose in life. dc.description: The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.
dc.title: Stigma and mental health problems in an Indian context. Perceptions of people with mental disorders in urban, rural, and tribal areas of Kerala dc.contributor.author: Raghavan, Raghu; Brown, Brian J.; Horne, Francesca; Kumar, Sanjana; Parameswaran, Uma; Bin Ali, Ameer; Raghu, Ardra; Wilson, Amanda; Venkateswaran, Chitra; Svirydzenka, N.; Kumar, Manoj; Ram Kamal, Sreedevi; Barrett, Andy; Dasan, Chandra; Varma, Aarcha; Banu, Asha dc.description.abstract: Background The concept of stigma has been widely used to understand patterns of discrimination and negative ideas surrounding people with mental health problems, yet we know little of the specific nuances of how this might operate beyond the 鈥楪lobal North鈥�. Aim This paper aims to explore the notion of stigma in an Indian context by considering the lived experience of patients, carers and community members. Methods A sample of 204 participants, representing mental health patients, informal carers and community members was recruited from urban and rural areas in Kerala, India. Participants took part in interviews where they were encouraged to talk about their experiences of mental ill health, attitudes towards these problems, barriers encountered and sources of support. Results Experiences akin to the experience of stigma in Europe and the United States were elicited but there were important local dimensions specific to the Indian context. The difficulties faced by people with diagnoses of mental disorders in finding marriage partners was seen as an important problem, leading to marriage proposals being refused in some cases, and secrecy on the part of those with mental health problems. Rather than the 鈥榮elf-stigma鈥� identified in the US, participants were more likely to see this as a collective problem in that it could reflect badly on the family group as a whole rather than just the sufferer. Conclusions In the Indian context, the idioms of stigma emphasised impairments in marriage eligibility and the implications for the family group rather than just the self. dc.description: The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.
dc.title: Idioms of resilience: Mental health and migration in India dc.contributor.author: Raghavan, Raghu; Brown, Brian J.; Coope, Jonathan; Crossley, Mark; Sivakami, Muthusamy; Gawde, Nilesh; Pendse, Tejasi; Jamwal, Saba; Barrett, Andy; Dyalchand, Ashok; Chaturvedi, Santosh; Chowdary, Abijeet; Heblikar, Dhanashree dc.description.abstract: Background: Resilience has proved to be a versatile notion to explain why people are not defeated by hardship and adversity, yet so far, we know little of how it might apply to communities and cultures in low to middle income countries. Aim: This paper aims to explore the notion of resilience in cross-cultural context through considering the lived experience of internal migration. Methods: A sample of 30 participants with experience of migration was recruited from a low-income slum dwelling neighbourhood in the city of Pune, India. These individuals participated in biographical narrative interviews in which they were encouraged to talk about their experience of migration, their adaptation to life in their new environment and making new lives for themselves. Results: Participants referred to a variety of intra-individual and external factors that sustained their resilience, including acceptance of their circumstances, the importance of memory, hope for their children鈥檚 futures as well as kindness from family friends and community members and aspects of the physical environment which were conducive to an improvement in their lives. Conclusions: By analogy with the widely used term 鈥榠dioms of distress鈥�, we advocate attention to the locally nuanced and culturally inflected 鈥榠dioms of resilience鈥� or 鈥榚udaemonic idioms鈥� which are of crucial importance as migration and movement become ever more prominent in discussions of human problems. The nature and extent of people鈥檚 coping abilities, their aspirations and strategies for tackling adversity, their idioms of resilience and eudaemonic repertoires merit attention so that services can genuinely support their adjustment and progress in their new-found circumstances. dc.description: The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.
dc.title: Resilience, mental health and urban migrants: a narrative review dc.contributor.author: Coope, Jonathan; Barrett, Andy; Brown, Brian J.; Crossley, Mark; Sivakami, Muthusamy; Raghavan, Raghu dc.description.abstract: The purpose of this paper is to provide a narrative review of the literature on mental health resilience and other positive mental health capacities of urban and internal migrants. The methodology for this narrative review included a search of articles published up to 2017. The abstracts were screened and relevant articles studied and discussed. Literature on the particular mental health challenges of urban migrants in India was also studied. References found in the literature relating to neuro-urbanism were also followed up to explore broader historical and conceptual contexts. Several key sources and resources for mental health resilience were identified 鈥� including familial and community networks and individual hope or optimism. Nevertheless, much of the literature tends to focus at the level of the individual person, even though ecological systems theory would suggest that mental health resilience is better understood as multi-layered i.e. relevant to, and impacted by, communities and broader societal and environmental contexts. This paper provides insight into an aspect of migrant mental health that has tended to be overlooked hitherto: the mental health resilience and positive mental health capacities of urban migrants. This is particularly relevant where professional 鈥榚xpert鈥� mental health provision for internal migrant communities is absent or unaffordable. Previous work has tended to focus predominantly on mental health risk factors, despite growing awareness that focusing on risk factors along can lead to an over-reliance on top-down expert-led interventions and overlook positive capacities for mental health that are sometimes possessed by individuals and their communities. dc.description: The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.
dc.title: Healthcare for Older People Research in Leicestershire dc.contributor.author: Conroy, Simon; Brown, Jayne; Bell, Katie; Haunton, Victoria; Robinson, T. G.; Bannerjee, J.; Martin, G.; Regen, E.; Phelps, K; O'Kelly, K.; Kondova, D.; Williamson, I. R.; Wildbur, D.; Fallmann, Sarah; Chen, L.; Oldridge, Louise; Larkin, M.; Wilson, A.; Agarwal, S.; Bankart, J.; Subramaniam, H.; Raghavan, Raghu; Panerai, R.; Clague-Baker, Nicola; Chung, E.; Stahl, Bernd Carsten, 1968-; Chen, F.; Triboan, Darpan; Psychoula, I.; Northcott, Andy dc.description.abstract: Academic geriatric medicine in Leicester . There has never been a better time to consider joining us. We have recently appointed a Professor in Geriatric Medicine, alongside Tom Robinson in stroke and Victoria Haunton, who has just joined as a Senior Lecturer in Geriatric Medicine. We have fantastic opportunities to support students in their academic pursuits through a well-established intercalated BSc programme, and routes on through such as ACF posts, and a successful track-record in delivering higher degrees leading to ACL post. We collaborate strongly with Health Sciences, including academic primary care. See below for more detail on our existing academic set-up. Leicester Academy for the Study of Ageing We are also collaborating on a grander scale, through a joint academic venture focusing on ageing, the 鈥楲eicester Academy for the Study of Ageing鈥� (LASA), which involves the local health service providers (acute and community), 海角社区; University of Leicester; Leicester City Council; Leicestershire County Council and Leicester Age UK. Professors Jayne Brown and Simon Conroy jointly Chair LASA and have recently been joined by two further Chairs, Professors Kay de Vries and Bertha Ochieng. Karen Harrison Dening has also recently been appointed an Honorary Chair. LASA aims to improve outcomes for older people and those that care for them that takes a person-centred, whole system perspective. Our research will take a global perspective, but will seek to maximise benefits for the people of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, including building capacity. We are undertaking applied, translational, interdisciplinary research, focused on older people, which will deliver research outcomes that address domains from: physical/medical; functional ability, cognitive/psychological; social or environmental factors. LASA also seeks to support commissioners and providers alike for advice on how to improve care for older people, whether by research, education or service delivery. Examples of recent research projects include: 鈥楲ocal History Caf茅鈥� project specifically undertaking an evaluation on loneliness and social isolation; 鈥楤etter Visits鈥� project focused on improving visiting for family members of people with dementia resident in care homes; and a study on health issues for older LGBT people in Leicester. Clinical Geriatric Medicine in Leicester We have developed a service which recognises the complexity of managing frail older people at the interface (acute care, emergency care and links with community services). There are presently 17 consultant geriatricians supported by existing multidisciplinary teams, including the largest complement of Advance Nurse Practitioners in the country. Together we deliver Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment to frail older people with urgent care needs in acute and community settings. The acute and emergency frailty units 鈥� Leicester Royal Infirmary This development aims at delivering Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment to frail older people in the acute setting. Patients are screened for frailty in the Emergency Department and then undergo a multidisciplinary assessment including a consultant geriatrician, before being triaged to the most appropriate setting. This might include admission to in-patient care in the acute or community setting, intermediate care (residential or home based), or occasionally other specialist care (e.g. cardiorespiratory). Our new emergency department is the county鈥檚 first frail friendly build and includes fantastic facilities aimed at promoting early recovering and reducing the risk of hospital associated harms. There is also a daily liaison service jointly run with the psychogeriatricians (FOPAL); we have been examining geriatric outreach to oncology and surgery as part of an NIHR funded study. We are home to the Acute Frailty Network, and those interested in service developments at the national scale would be welcome to get involved. Orthogeriatrics There are now dedicated hip fracture wards and joint care with anaesthetists, orthopaedic surgeons and geriatricians. There are also consultants in metabolic bone disease that run clinics. Community work Community work will consist of reviewing patients in clinic who have been triaged to return to the community setting following an acute assessment described above. Additionally, primary care colleagues refer to outpatients for sub-acute reviews. You will work closely with local GPs with support from consultants to deliver post-acute, subacute, intermediate and rehabilitation care services. Stroke Medicine 24/7 thrombolysis and TIA services. The latter is considered one of the best in the UK and along with the high standard of vascular surgery locally means one of the best performances regarding carotid intervention.
dc.title: Improving the recruitment of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities in health and social care research: a review of literature dc.contributor.author: Raghavan, Raghu; Jutlla, Karan dc.description.abstract: It is suggested that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities experience severe health inequalities and poor health outcomes compared to indigenous white groups. However there is a dearth of health-related research undertaken with BAME populations in the UK. Many terms are used to describe this group of people such as 鈥榚thnic minorities鈥�, 鈥榬acial minorities鈥� 鈥榖lack and minority ethnic鈥� groups. The aim of this literature review is to identify the barriers and enablers for recruiting people from BAME communities in research. Searches were an iterative process, designed to keep up to date with published material from the year 2000 onwards to 2015. In total, 54 articles were retrieved from which 39 papers were included in this review. A thematic analysis was applied to identify the key issues for consideration when conducting health related research with BAME communities. A number of key themes were identified as potential barriers for conducting research with BAME communities and approaches for improving research participation of Black Asian and Minority Ethnic communities are discussed
dc.title: Systematic review of applied theatre practice in the Indian context of mental health, resilience and well-being dc.contributor.author: Crossley, Mark; Barrett, A.; Brown, Brian J.; Coope, J.; Raghavan, Raghu dc.description.abstract: This systematic review seeks to evaluate the documented uses of applied theatre practice within an Indian context. At its most particular level, the review focuses on theatre interventions within migrant slum (basti) communities and, where in evidence, the conjunction of applied theatre with research and practice from mental health and well-being, in exploring these latter issues within such communities and the level and modes of their resilience. The review also draws upon related global research to contextualise and inform the Indian context. At present, systematic reviews are not prevalent within the research fields of theatre or specifically applied theatre , yet such reviews arguably offer the breadth of objective evidence required to interrogate the efficacy of such practice. This review is therefore intended to rigorously map the existing academic research and the more diffuse online dialogues within India that are pertinent to the subject; to consider the relations, contradictions, absences and inconsistencies within this literature, and from this to articulate key findings that may be integrated into the planning and delivery of new initiatives within this field. In this regard it seeks to survey the current state of knowledge, identify problems, evaluate current theory as well as develop new theoretical paradigms.

Key research outputs

Raghavan R and Griffin E (2017) Resilience and children and young people with intellectual disabilities, Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 11(3) 1-8
Gobrial E and Raghavan R (2017) Calm Child Programme: Parental Programme for Anxiety in Children and Young People with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities, Journal of intellectual Disabilities, doi/10.1177/1744629517704536
Wales J, Brewin N, Raghavan R and Arcelus J (2017) Exploring Barriers to South Asian Help-Seeking for Eating Disorders, Mental Health Review Journal, 22, 40-50
Raghavan R (2016) Active Involvement and Co-production with people with intellectual disabilities from minority ethnic communities. In Social Work in a Diverse Society: Transformative Practice in Ethnic Minority Communities (Eds. C. Williams and M. Graham) Policy Press#

Research interests/expertise

Mental health and intellectual disability
Resilience and mental health
Ethnicity, cultural Diversity and service access
Transcultural mental health
User and carer perspectives
Assistive technology

Areas of teaching

Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities
Psychosocial interventions
Ageing and disability
User and family carer perspectives
Ethnicity and Cultural perspectives

Qualifications

PhD (Oxford Brookes University)
Post Graduate Certificate in Education (University of Wolverhampton)
M.Sc. in Medical Psychology (University of Surrey)
BA in Psychology (University of Kerala, India)

Membership of professional associations and societies

Nursing and Midwifery Council
International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability (IASSID)
British Institute of Learning Disabilities (BILD)
Association for Research Training and Integration in Europe (ARFIE)

Professional licences and certificates

Registered Nurse (Learning Disabilities), East Surrey school of Nursing, Redhill, Surrey

Conference attendance

Imagining cultural competence in mental health services, International conference on Cultural Diversity and Mental Health, Leicester, UK, 22-24 June, Conference abstracts, 海角社区
Co-production of mental health services for people from diverse ethnic communities: Emperor’s new clothes or transformative practice? Trans-Cultural Dialogues about Mental Health, Extreme states and Alternatives for recovery’ International Conference, 26 – 28 November 2016 – PUNE, INDIA
Beliefs, perceptions and attitudes of Schizophrenia among South Asian population: A review of evidence. Third International conference on Counselling, Psychotherapy and Wellness, 5-7, January, 2016, Christ University, Bengaluru, India.
Ageing and Intellectual Disability: A European perspective, European conference on Integrating different approaches in the neurodevelopmental perspective, Vienna, Austria, 2015
Perspectives on ageing by people with intellectual disabilities and their family carers, New Horizons in Mental Health in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 12-14 September 2013, Estoril, Portugal
Resilience symposium: Review of resilience in young people with disabilities and mental health needs, 8th European Congress of Mental Health in Intellectual Disability, September 2011, Manchester
Use of Nintendo Wii to promote fitness, social skills and behaviour of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and intellectual disabilities, (with Kath Dickinson) 8th European Congress of Mental Health in Intellectual Disability, September 2011, Manchester
Calm child programme for children with autism and intellectual disabilities (with EGobrial), 8th European Congress of Mental Health in Intellectual Disability, September 2011, Manchester
Evaluation of a short course training programme on mental health for health care professionals, 8th European Congress of Mental Health in Intellectual Disability, September 2011, Manchester
Culture, ethnicity and services for children with disabilities, December 2010, Royal Society of Medicine, London

Consultancy work

Prof. Raghavan provides consultancy for a range of health and social care organisations. His portfolio of activities includes specialist staff training on behaviour and mental health interventions, practice and service development, user and family involvement, and ethnicity and cultural perspectives

Current research students

Rosemary Woods: A case study in developing a vocal communication system

Naina Patel: Conceptualisation of dementia in multi-ethnic communities

Ntokozo Ncube: Mental health recovery and spirituality

Lillian Ohene: Perceptions of family centred care for children in Ghana hospitalised through road traffic accidents

Chris Knifton: A socio-history and genealogy of dementia and its conceptualisation.

Gaynor Ward: Can people with learning disabilities report their own psychotic symptoms?

Ali Yildirim: The Experiences of recently qualified speech and language therapists in Inter-professional Collaborative Practice

Externally funded research grants information

Public Health Research (£200,000) Loneliness and social isolation in migrant communities (CI) ( PI Sarah Salway, University of Sheffield) 2017
Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) (£150,000Diagnosis of dementia in Black Asian and Minority Ethnic communities (CI) (PI Andrew Wilson University of Leicester) 2017
Hope against cancer (£61,500) Improving access and uptake of breast cancer screening and treatment services by Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) citizens in Leicester City ( Ph.D. studentship) 2017
Leicester City Clinical Commissioning Group and East Midlands Academic Health Sciences Network (£16,000) Toolkit improving research participation of people from Black Asian and Minority Ethnic communities to health research, 2016
East Midlands CLAHRC ( Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care) (£55,000) Conceptualization of dementia in multi-ethnic communities (PI) (PhD studentship)
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (£10,000) Exploring South Asian young people perspectives on healthy eating, eating disorders and access to services (CI)
EU Lifelong Learning programme – Developing web-based training modules for professionals and front line staff caring for older people with disabilities. This is a two year study (Commenced in January 2012) in association with the University of Vienna and four service partners from Bologna, Belgium, France and Luxembourg.
Northumbria University research development fund - Mapping of emotional resilience activities by special schools for children and young people with disabilities (2011)
EU Grundtvig Lifelong learning programme – Elderly disabled integration gets new innovative tools in European Societies. In association with CADIAI, Bologna, Italy and other eight other European partners (2010 -2012)
From Services to Children and young people (Bradford District Council) – Access to inclusive play, sport and leisure provision for disabled children and young people as part of the Government initiative on Aiming High for Disabled Children. December 2009 to July 2011 (Raghavan) (£65000)
From Barnardos - To evaluate family carer training programme for supporting children with autism spectrum disorders, 2009 (£10,000)
From MENCAP -Leisure opportunities for young people with learning disabilities. This is two year action research project, 2007 to 2008 (Raghavan) (£55,000).
From Mencap – To investigate the issues and needs of older carers (60+) of people with a learning disability.(£10,000) September 2007
From Joseph Rowntree Foundation – Application with International Centre for Participation Studies (Department of Peace studies, Bradford University) to investigate participation structures in the marginalised groups in the South Asian community in Bradford. This was a nine month project using participatory research methods (July 2005, £29.000).
From West Yorkshire Education and Training Consortium – production of a theatre about transition of young people with disabilities from school to adult services with Mind the Gap theatre company (£15,000) (2005)
From Bradford District Care Trust – To investigate lifespan perspectives – assessment and intervention – in the care of people with autism spectrum disorder (£10,000) in January 2003 (with Upadhyaya S, Dobson S, Bradford District Care Trust).
From Bradford District Care Trust - To explore the therapeutic aspects of touch in the care of people with profound and multiple disabilities (£5000) in January 2002 with (Dobson S and Upadhyaya, Bradford District Care Trust)
From the Foundation of People with Learning Disabilities (Mental Health Foundation) in July 02- The implementation of self-defined service models via a liaison worker in a multi-ethnic inner city population (£90,000). Two year study. (Raghavan R, Small N and Newell R) (2002 to 2004)
From the Department of Health – Learning Disability Research Programme to investigate social inclusion of children with learning disabilities from minority ethnic background in Bradford. Three-year research project (£140,000). (Raghavan R and Small N) (2002 to 2005).

Professional esteem indicators

Editorial Board member for Journals: Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Learning Disability Practice
Reviewer for: Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Learning Disability Practice, Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities
Patron – School of Drama therapy, Kerala, India
Reviewer for NIHR and ESRC research proposals