Mental health service users perspectives on risk: A discourse analysis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How do service users detained under the Mental Health Act use language to discuss safety and risk, as compared with service users with previous experience of detention: A discourse analysis.
IRAS ID
238140
Contact name
Richard Whittington
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Liverpool
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 28 days
Research summary
When users of mental health services are detained under a section of the Mental Health Act (MHA, 1983), they are assumed to be a risk to either themselves or others. Throughout a person's admission to hospital the risk that they may pose to either themselves or others is regularly reviewed by a mental health professional. Research suggests that the views of mental health service users on risk and safety are often not sought whilst they are detained. This study aims to gather the views of people with mental health difficulties on their own risks and safety. More specifically, the study is interested in the language people use to construct their views on 'risk' and 'safety'. The researcher will be interviewing five people who are currently detained under the MHA and five people who have been in the past in order to gain a broad insight in to how people's views on risk and safety may change depending on where they are in their recovery journey. The researcher will be interviewing people individually for approximately 60 minutes. These interviews will then be transcribed and analysed using discourse analysis. It is hoped that the outcomes of this study will inform more collaborative approaches to risk assessment in mental health services.
REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
18/WA/0224
Date of REC Opinion
9 Jul 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion