Focus group - Depression and Exercise V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
What do a focus group of community mental health patients aged forty to sixty with severe depression think about exercise for helping to alleviate the symptoms of depression?
IRAS ID
209344
Contact name
Nicky Spence
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Salford
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 26 days
Research summary
Severe depression is a debilitating condition affecting a vast amount of the population worldwide (NICE, 2011; WHO, 2015). Exercise is recommended for people with depression (NICE, 2009), however it is an underutilised resource (Callaghan, 2004).
Very few studies have adopted a qualitative approach to explore what people with severe depression think about exercise. Studies that have been completed have used interviews to explore this topic (Crone, 2007; Faulkner & Biddle, 2004; Searle et al., 2011) and have suggested that people with depression feel that exercise is beneficial in helping to alleviate the signs of depression.
One study completed by Fogarty & Happell (2009) used focus groups to explore the benefits of exercise with a group of service users with Schizophrenia, this study demonstrated that focus groups are beneficial in gaining a more Psychological perspective from service users.
The focus of the study is to explore what service users aged forty to sixty under the care of Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust think about exercise as an intervention and also to explore what participants think the benefits of exercise are. This will allow me to make changes to the existing service to better meet the needs of my patient group.
The participants will be known to myself and will have engaged in different types of community exercise groups ran by my team including chair based exercises, aerobics and gym sessions.
The focus groups will last up to 1 hour and will take place at the exercise group venue so that the participants feel safe and comfortable with their surroundings. The questions will focus on what participants think about exercise and its use as an intervention and also what they think about the groups and whether they are conducive in helping to alleviate their symptoms of depression.
REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/WM/0186
Date of REC Opinion
26 May 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion