Mental Health Service Users' Views of Practitioners Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Mental Health Service Users' Views of Practitioners: Mental Health Experience Study.
IRAS ID
173924
Contact name
Elanor Lewis-Holmes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal Holloway University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 23 days
Research summary
NHS policy guidance encourages recruiting and retaining mental health staff with lived experience of mental health problems and emphasises the value of such experience. However, there is little evidence based guidance on how mental health staff should use their own lived experiences in their work. Furthermore, mental health service users’ views on receiving care from staff with lived experience have yet to be explored.
This study will use qualitative methods to investigate mental health service users’ attitudes to mental health staff who themselves have lived experience of mental health difficulties. It also aims to investigate how, if at all, mental health service users would like mental health staff to disclose this information to them. Carrying out this research means that NHS mental health service users will have their views on this topic heard. It may also lead to better guidance for mental health staff with lived experience and provide recommendations for future research.
The study will be publicised through mental health service user groups in London with the aim of recruiting ten to fifteen people who have used NHS mental health services in the last five years. Following consent, participants will take part in semi-structured interviews conducted by the chief investigator. The interviews will last approximately one hour and take place on service user group, or university premises, in London. The transcribed interviews will be analysed using a method called Grounded Theory, which will be used to develop theories in line with the study aims. Feedback, from service users, on the initial findings will be incorporated into the final results. These results will be distributed to interested service users, published in an academic journal and submitted to Royal Holloway, University of London as part of the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology course requirements.REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NW/0504
Date of REC Opinion
17 Jul 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion