M. Isabela Troya

Institution: Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences, Keele University, England.

Supervisory team: Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham, Dr. Lisa Dikomitis, and Dr. Opeyemi Babatunde.

Position: PhD Student

Current research:I am interested in the experiences of self-harm as lived by those with self-harm behaviour. My PhD is a qualitative study that explores the experiences of self-harm in older adults regarding motivations for self-harm as well as access to care and support from the formal and informal sector.

Research interests:

• Qualitative research
• Life-course determinants of mental health
• Mental health in humanitarian contexts
• Substance and alcohol misuse
• Patient and public involvement in health research
• Global mental health.

Key publications:

• Troya, M.I .,Babatunde, O. Polidano, K., Bartlam, B., McCloskey, E., Dikomitis, L., & Chew-Graham. (In press). Self-harm in older adults: a systematic review. British Journal of Psychiatry.
• Troya, M. I., & Saavedra, M. P. (2018). Achieving health equity in Ecuador. The Lancet Global Health, 6(12), e1281.
• Troya, M. I., Bartlam, B., & Chew-Graham, C. A. (2018). Involving the public in health research in Latin America: making the case for mental health. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública, 42, e45.
• Troya, M. I., Greene, M. C., Santos, C. G., & Shultz, J. M. (2016). Conducting a desk review to inform the mental health and psychosocial support response to the 2016 Ecuador earthquake. Disaster health, 3(4), 90-101.
• Troya, M. I. (2015). Self-harm behaviour and external locus of control in patients with eating disorders in Therapeutic facilitee The Center located in Quito, Ecuador. (Bachelor’s thesis, Quito: USFQ, 2015).

Can help with: I’m happy to talk about qualitative research, particularly regarding interview skills. I can also help with completing ethics applications, conducting systematic reviews, and having an overall life-course perspective to how self-harm and mental health can be conceptualised in an individual’s life. I appreciate the importance of having a peer to disclose/debrief anonymously when researching sensitive subjects such as self-harm so am happy to talk this through. Finally, I’m happy to talk about the experience of working in collaboration with a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group when conducting research.

What’s essential to your well-being? Reading and learning different things outside my research area. For instance, I’m currently interested in research from Prof. David Nutt at Imperial College looking at expanding consciousness through (but not limited to) the use of psychedelics in order to treat certain mental health conditions. I love travelling and learning from different cultures. I also try to keep active and play volleyball. But I think mostly family and friends are particularly important for my wellbeing.

Find Isabela elsewhere:

• Twitter
• Researchgate
• Academia
• Email: m.i.troya.bermeo@keele.ac.uk