{{short description|British medical researcher}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Dawn Edge | birth_name = Dawnette Ethilda Edge<ref name=dawnette>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013081916/https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/eDPd9jDjwHDB6Ofo11NHAM5EgzE/appointments|archive-date=2020-10-13|url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/eDPd9jDjwHDB6Ofo11NHAM5EgzE/appointments|title=Dawnette Ethilda EDGE|publisher=Companies House|location=London|author=Anon|year=2020}}</ref> | alma_mater = University of Salford<br /> University of Manchester | fields = Health research<br />Schizophrenia<br />Perinatal mental health<br />Ethnicity<ref name=gs/> | workplaces = University of Manchester | thesis_url = https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.556319 | thesis_title = Perinatal depression among women of Black Caribbean origin : a longitudinal cohort study of prevalence, beliefs and attitudes to help seeking | thesis_year = 2002 | website = {{Official URL}} }}
'''Dawnette Ethilda Edge''' is a British medical researcher and senior lecturer in psychology, who is professor of mental health and inclusivity at the University of Manchester.<ref name=":1">{{Official URL}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Prof Dawn Edge PhD, MRes, BSc Hons {{!}} The University of Manchester|url=https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/researchers/null(4625b0e6-bb02-44f6-98f1-52edb4abc724).html|access-date=2020-10-13|website=research.manchester.ac.uk|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Tackling inequalities in mental health {{!}} University of Manchester|url=https://www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/stories/tackling-inequalities-mental-health/|access-date=2020-10-12|website=bmh.manchester.ac.uk}}</ref> Her research investigates racial inequalities in mental health, including the origins of the overdiagnosis of schizophrenia in British African-Caribbean people.<ref name=gs>{{Google scholar id}}</ref><ref name=epmc>{{EuropePMC}}</ref><ref name="BucciMorris2018">{{cite journal|last1=Bucci|first1=Sandra|last2=Morris|first2=Rohan|last3=Berry|first3=Katherine|last4=Berry|first4=Natalie|last5=Haddock|first5=Gillian|last6=Barrowclough|first6=Christine|last7=Lewis|first7=Shôn|last8=Edge|first8=Dawn|title=Early Psychosis Service User Views on Digital Technology: Qualitative Analysis|journal=JMIR Mental Health|volume=5|issue=4|year=2018|article-number=e10091|issn=2368-7959|doi=10.2196/10091|pmid=30381280 |pmc=6236205 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
== Early life and education == Edge studied healthcare and welfare at the University of Salford, where she graduated with first-class honours in 1993.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Prof Dawn Edge PhD, MRes, BSc Hons {{!}} The University of Manchester|url=https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/researchers/dawn-edge(4625b0e6-bb02-44f6-98f1-52edb4abc724).html|access-date=2020-10-12|website=research.manchester.ac.uk|language=en}}</ref> She eventually trained in social sciences, completing a master's degree in social sciences also at the University of Salford.<ref name=":1" /> She also holds qualifications in teaching psychotherapy and is a member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/dawn.edge|title=Dawn Edge, PhD, MRes, BSc Hons {{!}} Qualifications|publisher=The University of Manchester|access-date=16 August 2025}}</ref>
Edge eventually joined the University of Manchester as a graduate student, where she was supported by the NHS North West partnership. Edge earned her doctorate in medical sociology in 2003.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=PhD-556319>{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|publisher=University of Manchester|url=https://www.librarysearch.manchester.ac.uk/permalink/44MAN_INST/bofker/alma992976678063901631|title=Perinatal depression among women of black caribbean origin: a longitudinal cohort study of prevalence, beliefs and attitudes to help seeking|first= Dawn|last=Edge|date=2002|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.556319}}|website=manchester.ac.uk|oclc=642945741}}</ref> Her doctoral research investigated maternal mental health and how Black mothers accessed mental health services before and after giving birth.<ref name=":0" />
== Research and career == Edge was appointed to the board of trustees for African and Caribbean Mental Health Services, a grassroots organisation that looks to empower individuals to identify their mental health needs. Informed by her experiences on the board, Edge switched her focus to evidence-based interventions for communities of colour. As part of this work, she established a series of community-focussed mental health conferences that brought together members of NHS Mental Health Services Trusts, academics and volunteer groups.<ref name=":0" />
In 2006, Edge was appointed to the faculty at the University of Manchester, where she was eventually promoted to Professor of Mental Health.<ref name=":1" /> She became concerned that African and Caribbean populations were being over-diagnosed with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines include family interventions, but these are not always offered to non-white people. Edge has shown that Black people are more likely to experience a negative pathway in mental health care compared to their white counterparts.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Black mental health matters: Time to eradicate long-standing ethnic inequalities in mental healthcare|url=http://blog.policy.manchester.ac.uk/posts/2020/07/black-mental-health-matters-time-to-eradicate-long-standing-ethnic-inequalities-in-mental-healthcare/|access-date=2020-10-12|website=blog.policy.manchester.ac.uk|language=en-GB|first=Jamal|last=Alston|author2=Henna Lemetyinen|author3=Dawn Edge|date=2020-07-15}}</ref> She has shown that they are more likely to be sectioned by the Mental Health Act, which can result in the breakdown of close relationships, and make effective family interventions unlikely.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Recruitment success for NIHR-funded study aimed at tackling schizophrenia in the African Caribbean community {{!}} Research Explorer {{!}} The University of Manchester|url=https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/media/recruitment-success-for-nihrfunded-study-aimed-at-tackling-schizophrenia-in-the-african-caribbean-community(099c229e-42e5-4073-8a57-08844dde220f).html|access-date=2020-10-12|website=research.manchester.ac.uk|language=en}}</ref> Supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Edge has looked to develop culturally-sensitive family interventions.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Groundbreaking therapy trialled with BME schizophrenia service users {{!}} Research Explorer {{!}} The University of Manchester|url=https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/media/groundbreaking-therapy-trialled-with-bme-schizophrenia-service-users(c4f71dfa-e4f0-4ec6-adc5-5d3839bc3939).html|date=15 September 2017| access-date=2020-10-12|website=research.manchester.ac.uk|language=en}}</ref><ref>Edge, D., Degnan, A., Cotterill, S., Berry, K., Drake, R., Baker, J., Barrowclough, C., Hughes-Morley, A., Grey, P., Bhugra, D., Cahoon, P., Tarrier, N., Lewis, S., & Abel, K. (2016). [https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-016-0070-2 "Culturally-adapted Family Intervention (CaFI) for African-Caribbeans diagnosed with schizophrenia and their families: Protocol for a feasibility study of implementation and acceptability"]. ''Pilot and Feasibility Studies'', 2(39), 1–14. Retrieved 2025-08-16.</ref>
Edge spent 2014 as a visiting scholar in Canada and the United States of America, where she studied how the countries supported the mental health of African Caribbean populations.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dawn Edge's Story|publisher=Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts|url=https://www.wcmt.org.uk/fellows/stories/dawn-edge%E2%80%99s-story|access-date=2020-10-12|website=wcmt.org.uk|language=en|archive-date=2020-09-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927111756/https://www.wcmt.org.uk/fellows/stories/dawn-edge%E2%80%99s-story}}</ref> Her research has been funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC).<ref>{{Cite web|author=Anon|date=2020|title=UK government research grants awarded to Dawn Edge|url=https://gtr.ukri.org/person/10C4C761-0D09-4F94-9639-92263B27BCC0|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013073852/https://gtr.ukri.org/person/10C4C761-0D09-4F94-9639-92263B27BCC0 |archive-date=2020-10-13 |access-date=2020-10-13|website=ukri.org|publisher=UK Research and Innovation|location=Swindon}}</ref>
=== Academic service === Edge is an academic lead for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) at the University of Manchester. As part of this work, she is involved with the submission to the Race Equality Charter.<ref name=":0" />
== Selected publications == {{Scholia}} * {{Cite journal|last1=Nadeem|first1=Erum|last2=Lange|first2=Jane M.|last3=Edge|first3=Dawn|last4=Fongwa|first4=Marie|last5=Belin|first5=Tom|last6=Miranda|first6=Jeanne|date=2007|title=Does Stigma Keep Poor Young Immigrant and U.S.-Born Black and Latina Women From Seeking Mental Health Care?|journal=Psychiatric Services|volume=58|issue=12|pages=1547–1554|doi=10.1176/ps.2007.58.12.1547|issn=1075-2730|pmid= 18048555}} * {{Cite journal|last1=Edge|first1=Dawn|last2=Rogers|first2=Anne|date=2005|title=Dealing with it: Black Caribbean women's response to adversity and psychological distress associated with pregnancy, childbirth, and early motherhood|journal=Social Science & Medicine|language=en|volume=61|issue=1|pages=15–25|doi=10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.11.047|issn=0277-9536|pmid= 15847958}} * {{Cite journal|last1=Kovandžić|first1=Marija|last2=Chew-Graham|first2=Carolyn|last3=Reeve|first3=Joanne|last4=Edwards|first4=Suzanne|last5=Peters|first5=Sarah|last6=Edge|first6=Dawn|last7=Aseem|first7=Saadia|last8=Gask|first8=Linda|last9=Dowrick|first9=Christopher|date=2011|title=Access to primary mental health care for hard-to-reach groups: From 'silent suffering' to 'making it work'|journal=Social Science & Medicine|language=en|volume=72|issue=5|pages=763–772|doi=10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.11.027|pmid=21272968|issn=0277-9536|url=http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/28128/1/Kovandzic_Social_Science_and_Medicine_2011.pdf }}
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edge, Dawn}} Category:Academics of the University of Manchester Category:Alumni of the University of Manchester Category:Alumni of the University of Salford Category:Black British academics Category:Black British health professionals Category:Black British psychologists and psychotherapists Category:Black British women academics Category:British public health researchers Category:British women academics Category:British women psychologists Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people