Exploration of Autistic People's Experience of Inpatient Mental Health
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Is the Acute Mental Health Environment Supportive? An Exploration into the Experiences of Autistic Service Users.
IRAS ID
353841
Contact name
Sophie Campbell-Templeton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Sheffield
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/SA5M2, Pre-Registration with OSF
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 31 days
Research summary
The aim of this study is to understand how autistic adults experience the environment in inpatient mental health settings. This is important to understand as there is a higher rate of autistic adults in these settings compared to the general population, however, there is little research to understand their experiences.
Adults with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (aged 18+) who are currently in an inpatient mental health setting will be eligible to take part. The researcher will visit participants to conduct a 1 hour interview to better understand their experiences of the inpatient environment.
The interview data will then be transcribed and analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a qualitative method. IPA is designed to explore how individuals interpret and make sense of their experiences. It allows exploration of experiences at an individual level, whilst also enabling themes to be identified across a group of participants, such that any shared experiences can be identified.
This research project is being conducted as part of a doctorate in clinical psychology.
REC name
London - City & East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/LO/0336
Date of REC Opinion
30 May 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion