Are Spirituality Outcome Measures Acceptable in Mental Health Settings
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Are Spirituality Outcome Measures Acceptable in Mental Health Settings? A Pilot Study.
IRAS ID
219811
Contact name
Julian Raffay
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Mersey Care NHS Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 1 days
Research summary
This study, if approved, will be the third in a series aiming to show the benefit of co-producing Spiritual and Pastoral Care (SPC) in mental health. The first study (14/NW/1040) explored what service users wanted from the service. The second, a service evaluation, explored what was actually being delivered. This study plans to pilot outcome measures (rating scales) for use in a larger feasibility study. It will run on mental health wards in Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust. \n\nI aim to test:\n1) how acceptable mental health service users find outcome measures on spiritual well-being and quality of life \n2) whether these outcome measures appear to measure what they claim to in this population\n3) whether I can retain participants over six months\n4) the range of suitable in-patient wards.\nIf the outcome measures are found to be unacceptable, I will explore what next steps may be required.\n\nDesign: \nMixed methods pilot study.\n\nMethods: \nI plan to use purposive sampling to recruit up to 40 participants at ward community meetings/via chaplains. Participants will be able to give informed consent and be as reflective of the local population as possible. I will invite them to complete three outcome measures at the start, and 3 and 6 months later. I will invite comments on their experience of the research and SPC. Interviews will not take more than an hour. I will consider an eventual full trial possible if I can recruit enough participants and retain over 60 per cent.\n\nPublishing:\nI will (a) publish in academic and professional journals, (b) social media, (c) present at chaplains’ and mental health conferences, (d) offer a Plain English summary.\n\nScientific justification: \nI hope to show that researching, designing, and delivering SPC services with those who use them improves satisfaction and effectiveness. Further research could potentially show similar benefits in other fields and across services.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/NW/0039
Date of REC Opinion
27 Feb 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion