The social determinants of distress in South Asian men with long-term conditions: a qualitative study.

Abstract

Background: People with long-term physical conditions are more likely to experience distress, depression or anxiety. Physical-mental comorbidity is associated with lower quality of life, poorer clinical outcomes, and increased mortality than physical conditions alone. South Asians (SAs) are the largest minority group in the UK, and more likely to have long-term conditions (LTCs) such as diabetes and heart disease.

Aim: To explore how men of SA origin with LTCs understand and experience emotional distress as well as the experiences of GPs supporting them.

Design and setting: UK qualitative study interviewing SA men with diabetes or coronary heart disease, and GPs working at practices with higher proportions of SAs.

Method: Online semi-structured interviews with SA men and GPs. Data were analysed via reflexive thematic analysis. Topic guides were modified iteratively as data collection and analysis progressed. An ethnically appropriate patient advisory group of SA men was involved in all stages of the research.

Results: Seventeen SA men with LTCs and 18 GPs were interviewed. Participants described contextualising distress including the interaction between having a LTC and distress, and the intersections of social determinants of distress including ethnicity, poverty and perceptions of prejudice. Participants understood distress as different to depression with the need to negotiate multiple identities as well as alternative paradigms of health.

Conclusion: This study highlights the influence of social determinants of distress in SA men with LTCs. It provides an insight into how primary care has the potential to address health inequalities by considering the intersection of these factors.