Experiences of trauma informed care in approved premises
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A comparison of the staff teams’ experiences and attitudes towards trauma informed care at a PIPE approved premise and a non-PIPE approved premise with exploration of resident experiences.
IRAS ID
293728
Contact name
Chloe McKenzie
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 30 days
Research summary
Adverse and traumatic childhood experiences are linked to an increased risk of violence and criminal activity in later life (Larkin, Felitti and Anda, 2013). This is reflected within forensic services, as there are higher rates of childhood trauma within this population than within the general population (Widom, 2017). Also, among those given a diagnosis of personality disorder in forensic services, insecure attachments and complex developmental trauma are widespread (Willmot and Evershed, 2018). In response to this, and to better meet the needs of individuals within forensic services, trauma informed approaches are increasingly becoming a priority (Fritzon et al., 2020). It can be considered that key elements of offender personality disorder (OPD) pathway reflect the trauma informed approach. A key aspect of the OPD pathway is psychologically informed planned environments (PIPEs), which have been applied to approved premises. Approved premises are accommodation sites which individuals leaving prison are required to reside at for a period.
To gain further understanding of the manner in which trauma informed principles can be applied via the PIPE approach in approved premises, this project will implement a mixed-methods design. Two approved premise sites will be utilised, one which adopts a PIPE model, and another that does not. The attitudes
related to trauma informed care (ARTIC) scale will be implemented to measure professionals’ attitudes (Baker et al., 2016). The responses at the different sites will be compared, and then followed up by semi-structured interviews with staff and residents. This will examine their experiences of the approved premises. This project will provide insight into the application of the trauma informed approach to those with personality difficulties in forensic settings. This will add to the evidence-base as there remains a literature gap in the impact and experiences of implementing a trauma informed approach within forensic settings.REC name
London - South East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0111
Date of REC Opinion
25 Jul 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion