A co-produced study of Recovery College students’ self-care practices.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A co-produced rapid ethnographic study of ‘self-care’ practices among Recovery College students who self-manage their mental health and wellbeing.
IRAS ID
349185
Contact name
Xandra Miguel-Lorenzo
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
North London Mental Health Partnership (soon to be known as the North London Foundation Trust)
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 2 months, 17 days
Research summary
This project is a co-produced rapid ethnographic study of Recovery College students’ ‘self-care’ and ‘self-management’ practices for mental health and wellbeing recovery. It examines the students’ conceptual understandings; time and money investment; role for preventing mental health crisis or maintaining mental health and wellbeing. It assesses low-cost self-care and self-management peer-led co-produced courses for mental health and wellbeing recovery effectiveness. Recovery College students’ positive health outcomes are attributed to students becoming ‘an expert in their own self-care’ through non-clinical co-produced holistic education led by peers (Perkins et.al. 2012:7). Some Recovery College’s courses are ‘self-management programmes for specific mental health conditions’ (Ibid:6), complying with NICE’s (2011). Recovery Colleges are cost-effective, students use less costly mental health services (Cronin Et Al 2023; Kay & Edgley 2019; Bourne Et Al 2018, Barton, S., & Williams, R. 2015; Rinaldi, M., & Wybourn, S. 2011). Yet, research on Recovery Colleges lacks descriptive depth on the students’ everyday lives to help us understand the mechanisms of change. The Principal Investigator is a Recovery College peer tutor using ethnography (Meddings et.al. 2015:219) and co-production research methodologies. The study participants will be NHS Camden & Islington Recovery College students, 18 years old or older, including underserved populations, who have attended a Recovery College course with a ‘self-care’ content from October 2021 until present. They will be asked to co-produce ‘self-care’ course content, interview questions, ethnographic research methodology; they will be interviewed for an hour; and they will chose a ‘self-care’ practice of their choice to teach to the other study participants and to express if participants in research supports mental health recovery. They will attend two full days workshops at UCL, Department of Applied Health Research.
REC name
HSC REC A
REC reference
24/NI/0127
Date of REC Opinion
10 Dec 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion