Karim Mitha (FRSA, FRSPH, DFPH, MFPH, GMBPsS)

Biography

Background

Karim Mitha is a Public Health Specialty Registrar within the NHS and contributes to teaching at the Usher Institute and Edinburgh Medical School, with specific expertise in ethnic health inequalities, social determinants, migration and health, and cross-cultural mental health. He has an inter-disciplinary and international academic background, with a focus on psychology and health, practising Public Health in the United Kingdom and has additional interests in religion, having studied Islam and Arabic in Syria.  He is also trained in Mental Health First Aid and is certified in Counselling Skills. Consequently, his research areas and interests are interdisciplinary in nature. With a background in mixed-methods health research, his  current research themes employ sociological approaches to diversity and cross-cultural health care – looking at issues of social exclusion, acculturation, experiences of care, and factors involved in mental ill health, specifically amongst migrant, BAME, and Muslim communities.

Qualifications

Public Health Specialty Registrar 

UKPHR - SR1270

DFPH - Faculty of Public Health

MFPH - Faculty of Public Health

 

Responsibilities & affiliations

Fellow - Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures, Commerce

Fellow - Royal Society of Public Health

Member - European Public Health Association

Member - European Health Psychology Society

Member - British Psychological Society

Division of Health Psychology; Division of Academics, Researchers, Teachers in Psychology; Social Psychology Section - British Psychological Society

Member - The British Sociological Association

Member - Muslims in Britain Research Network

Member - Migration Health and Development Research Initiative

Member - British Islamic Medical Association

Member - Psychologists for Social Change

BAME COVID Response Group - Psychologists for Social Change London (2020)

Co-Convenor- Activism in Sociology (2018-2020)

Undergraduate teaching

2016-2020:

Lecturer:

  • University of Edinburgh MBChB - Health, Ethics Society: Social Psychiatry, Stigma and Discrimination

Tutor:

  • University of Edinburgh MBChB - Health, Ethics Society: Disability, Global Health, Social Determinants of Health

 

2015:

Guest Lecturer:

  • University of Edinburgh MOOC Global Mental Health - Culture and Spirituality 

 

2013-2015:

Lecturer:

  • De Montfort University - BA (Health Studies), BSc (Public and Community Health), BSc (Psychology), Bsc (Psychology and Health Studies)
    • Human Body
    • Research Methods
    • Health Improvement
    • Health Psychology
    • Introduction to Social Research
    • Healthcare Management
    • Debates and Dilemmas in Healthcare
    • Applied Social Research
    • Dissertation
    • Health Promotion and Public Health
    • Gender and Health
    • Globalisation and Health
    • Psychology of Sexuality

Postgraduate teaching

2016-present:

Masters of Public Health

 

  • Dissertation Supervisor
  • Course Tutor - Epidemiology for Public Health Practice

 

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

No

Research summary

Karim's current research interests examine the role of social processes on resilience with  common mental disorders (CMDs), ie: depression and anxiety.  He is working with Muslims in Scotland and examining the relationship between  acculturative processes on subsequent psychological morbidity. The aim is to gain a holistic picture, through examining key community stakeholders and individual experiences, of how Muslims in Scotland undergo various acculturative processes, the role of their faith and ethnic identity, and the impacts of discrimination and integration in their mental health and wellbeing. This research utilises an interdisciplinary approach and employs qualitative methods via an intersectional lens. 

Knowledge exchange

Public Engagement:

2022:     "Mental health and Muslim communities" - Institut für Wissenschaft und Kunst, University of Vienna, November 2022

2021:     "What does mental health look like in the British Muslim community?" - medium.com, Sept 2021

                   "A direct look - Mental Health in the Muslim Community" -  Blurred Vision Productions, British Muslim TV, May 2021

                  "Racism, Islamophobia, and mental health" - The Anti-racist Educator April 2021

2020:    "Islamophobia and mental health in Scotland" - Surviving Society, April 2020

               "Race, culture, identity, and health" - DNA, Diversity, and Difference. Wellcome Collection. March 2020

2019:      "'You'd need an entire WAM': Race, mental health, and disability in academia" - Creating Spaces in Academia BSA PG event, London School of  Economics and  Political Science, November 2019

                "Mental health and Muslim communities" - University of Edinburgh Islamic Society, November 2019

                 "Mental health across cultures", Keynote speaker - Manchester Medical Research Student Society National Undergraduate Conference, February 2019

                 "Islamophobia, stigma, mental health: Muslims in Scotland" - speaker at Psychology, Equality, and Social Justice, London School of Economics and  Political  Science, January 2019

 

2018:     "Mental health and Muslim communities", - Fresh Air Edinburgh Radio, December 2018

                   "Mental health in migrant, South Asian, and Muslim communities:" - MQ Mental Health, November 2018

                   "Depression, anxiety, and domestic abuse", invited panelist at "The Antomy of Islamic Psychology" - Alif Institute,  The East London Mosque October 2018

                    Advisor to BBC Stories, "It's like a taboo, what will the neighbours say" - July 2018

                  "Inclusion: The modern place of worship", Invited panelist at Baroness Warsi Foundation event, University of Glasgow, June 2018

                  “Identity and mental health amongst Scotland’s Muslim community”. Poster presented at  British Academy and Wellcome Trust event on Mental Health Policy and  Social Science Practice.  Edinburgh,  March 2018

 

2017:     "Mental health and Muslim communities"  - University of Edinburgh Islamic Society, November 14

                  “Mental health issues within Scottish society" - Sakeenah Society, Radio Ramadan Glasgow, June 2 

 

2016:     “Medicine during the Islamic Golden Age” -  University of Edinburgh Islamic Society, November 8 

 

2015:     Consultation response to ONS Census 2021 on race/religion/ethnicity/language

 

Peer Reviewer: Community Psychology in Global Perspective, Perspectives in Public Health, European Journal of Social Psychology, Social Science and Medicine,  Social Science and Medicine - Population Health, Journal of Refugee Studies, Medical Research Council

Affiliated research centres

Current project grants

Aziz Foundation (2019-2020)

Past project grants

MQ Mental Health (2019)
Migration, Ethnicity, Race, and Health Congress bursary (2018)
British Academy ECR Grant – Mental Health Policy and Social Science Practice (2018)
BSA Support Fund (2018)
University of Edinburgh New Network Award (2017)
BPS Annual Conference Postgraduate Bursary (2016);
GLADD Research Prize (2015);
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Scholarship for Doctoral Study (2015- 2018);
The Institute of Ismaili Studies Research Grant (2012);
Al-Maktoum College of Higher Education Travel Grant (2012)

Conference details

Selected Conferences:

 

2019:  Mitha, K., Adatia, S., Hankir, A., Tarik, M., & Jaspal, R. "We don't air our dirty laundry": Notions of mental health stigma amongst Australian Muslims. Global Muslim Mental Health Conference. Clare College, University of Cambridge, September 2019

 

Mitha, K. Intersectional experiences of mental ill health: A case study of Muslims in Scotland. poster presented at MQ Mental Health Data Science conference . Royal College of Physicians. London, February 2019

 

2018:  Muir, M., Anderson, N., Barrell, J., Conway, D., & Mitha, K. Caries experience of children with learning disabilities and autism in Europe - a systematic review. British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry.  Cavendish conference centre. London. November 2018

 

Mitha, K. Identity, Islamophobia, and mental health: A qualitative investigation into mental health  needs amongst Scotland’s Muslims. Migration, Ethnicity, Race, and Health World Congress. –  European Public Health Association. University of Edinburgh,  Edinburgh May 2018 In:  In: The European Journal of Public Health , 28(suppl_1), cky047.013, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/cky047.013

 

Tan, S., Mitha, K., & Quigley-Legido, H. Effective ways to address the unment NCD needs of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia. Migration, Ethnicity, Race, and Health World Congress - European Public Health Association, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh May 2018. In: The European Journal of Public Health, 28(suppl_1), cky047-196. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/cky047.196

 

Mitha K. “Rescued by Scotland”? Identity and resilience amongst Scotland’s Muslim community.  British Sociological Association Annual Conference, Northumbria University, Newcastle April 2018

 

2017:   Mitha, K. Muslims in Scotland: Identity, Integration, and Impact on Psychological Wellbeing. British Psychological Society - London and Home Counties Branch Symposium: Identity. Institute for Child Health. University College London. London June 2017.

 

Mitha, K. "Scotland is 10-20 years behind London anyway": Naratives of identity and inclusion from British Muslims. British Sociological Association Postgraduate Forum Regional Event: Contemporary Racisms in Scotland and England - Interrogating, Comparing, and Learning from Brexit and its Aftermath. Kinning Park Complex. Glasgow. June 2017

 

 Mitha, K. Challenges in mental health service delivery for Scottish Muslims. Public Health in a changing world. Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Edinburgh. May 2017

 

Mitha, K. An overview of integration, inclusion, and mental health needs amongst Scottish Muslims. Migration, ethnicity, and health inequalities. National Institute for Health Research - Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care. School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield. Sheffield. April 2017

 

2016:     Mitha, K. Religious identity and its influence on religious discourse in mental health. Mental Health and Cultural Diversity conference, De Montfort University, Leicester, June 2016

 

Mitha, K. “If it’s not talked about, it doesn’t happen”: Explaining Muslim under-utilization of psychiatric services. Poster presented at The British Psychological Society Annual Conference, East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham, April 2016

 

2015:      Mitha, K. “Insights from researching mental health in diasporic Muslim communities”. Globalizing Mental Health, Advances in Research on Globally Accessible Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey, December 2015

 

Mitha, K. “Awareness of mental illness amongst South Asian Muslim male immigrants”. Poster presented at Scottish Mental Health Research network. Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, Scotland. October 2015.

 

Mitha, K., Adatia, S. “Toques and tea, or chapals and chai: Muslims, media, masti, and meaning”. British Association for Islamic Studies, University of London, April 2015.

Organiser

"Race, Ethnicity, and Postcolonical Studies Postgraduate Conference",  with S. Harris and S. Akhtar, University of Glasgow, June 2019

 

"Embedding anti-racism into Public Health practice",  with F. Ogunlayi, B. Smouth, H. Erswell, H. Johnston,  F. Bury, & L. Austin-Croft, Faculty of Public Health, September 2020

2023:

  • Mitha, K., Waqar, S., Asaria, M., Suleiman, M., & Ghouri, N. "An examination of Ramadan fasting and COVID-19 outcomes in the UK". In: Al-Deen, A. & Padela, A. (eds). Islam, Muslims, and COVID-19: The intersections of health, ethics, and social life in the diaspora. Brill Publishing.

 

2021:

  • Mitha, K., Ali, S., &  Koc, Y.  "Challenges to identity integration amongst sexual minority British Muslim South Asian men".  Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology. 31(6): 749-767.

 

2020:

  • Mitha, K. " 'England is faltering': The Marmot Review: 10 Years on". Psychologists for Social Change blog.

 

  • Mitha, K., Adatia, S., & Jaspal, R. "The constrution of national and religious identities amongst Australian Isma'ili Muslims". Social Identities. 20(6): 791-810.

 

  • Mitha, K. "Conceptualising and addressing mental disorders amongst Muslim communities: Approaches from the Islamic Golden Age". Transcultural Psychiatry. 57(6):763-774.

 

  • Mitha, K., Qureshi, K.,  Adatia, S., & Dodhia, H. "Racism as a social determinant: COVID-19 and its impact on racial/ethnic minorities". Discover Society blog.

 

2019:

  • Mitha, K. "Sufism and Healing".  Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health. 21(3): 194-205.

 

2018:

  • Mitha, K. "Intersectional spaces of disabled people of colour in academia". Chronically Academic blog

 

2017:

  • Mitha, K. "BPS Annual Conference Review". PsyPAG Quarterly, 103: 58-59.

 

  • Mitha, K., Adatia S., & Jaspal, R. "Two cultures, one identity: Formulations of Australian Isma'ili Muslim identity". Contemporary Islam: Dynamics of Muslim Life.  11(1): 41-60.

 

2016:     

  • Mitha, K. “Review of BPS Annual Conference 2016”. Psych-Talk, 85:10-11.

 

  • Mitha, K. & Adatia, S. “The faith community and mental health resilience amongst Australian Ismaili  Muslim youth.” Mental Health, Religion, and Culture. 19(2):192-207.

 

2015:     

  • Mitha, K. “Identity, Race, and Belonging”. The Psychologist, 28(10): 852-853. 

2021-2023 (University of Edinburgh)

  • MPH dissertation supervisor

 

2018-2019 (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine student, external advisor):

  • MPH (public health trainee)-  "Can the healthy migrant effect provide new insights for commissioning public health services in East London?" 

 

2017-2018 (University of Edinburgh):

  • MPH (dental public health trainee) -  "Dental health promotion for children with autism spectrum disorders" 

 

2016-2017 (University of Edinburgh)

  • MSc (Global Health and Noncommunicable Disease)  - " The unmet non-communicable disease needs amongst Rohingya refugees in Malaysia" 
  • BSc (Medical Sciences) - "Perceptions of mental illness amongst Malay Malaysian women in Edinburgh" 

 

2013-2015 (De Montfort University)

  • 2 BSc (Public and Community Health) 
  • 9 BA (Health Studies) 
  • 2 MRes
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