Individual Placement and Support for patients with offending histories
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Individual Placement and Support (IPS) for patients with offending histories: Feasibility of an evidence-based approach in forensic mental health settings.
IRAS ID
163745
Contact name
Najat Khalifa
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 5 months, 30 days
Research summary
Unemployment has been linked to poverty, low self-esteem, criminality and social isolation, while paid work leads to social integration, income and reduced criminality. Several approaches to sustaining employment in offenders have been tested in criminal justice settings, and those approaches which work best share some of the characteristics of Individual Placement and Support (IPS). IPS, a form of supported employment, aims to get people who want to work into competitive employment quickly and in accordance with their preferences. It provides individualised support, for the person and their employer, via employment specialists collocated within clinical teams. Benefits counselling is included. However, despite it being accepted as ‘best practice’ in adult mental health, the evidence base for IPS in forensic mental health settings is lacking.
This study aims to assess the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of IPS in improving employment rates and associated psychosocial outcomes in community forensic psychiatric settings. Besides using a range of measures, we will assess how IPS affects those people who use it, by comparison with those who are willing to work but who are not able to access IPS. The findings will tell us both how best to introduce IPS to forensic settings, and how this can be evaluated most efficiently; which measures to use and how many people would need to be included in a randomised controlled trial study design to maximise confidence in the results. The proposed study is highly original and has the potential to improve the employment prospects of patients in forensic community settings, helping them to get paid work, and to enjoy many of the psychological and social benefits that working status entails. It offers the possibility of cost savings, as people in employment reduce their use of the NHS and in some cases their reliance on welfare benefits.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EM/0253
Date of REC Opinion
1 Jul 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion