Protective factors for violence in long term forensic psychiatric care
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating factors protecting against incidents of violence and self-harm in long term forensic psychiatric care: a prospective follow-up study
IRAS ID
271985
Contact name
Jane Ireland
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The primary aim of this research is to test the predictive validity of the SAPROF-Long-term Care (LC) for inpatient aggression and self-harm in high secure psychiatric patients. The SAPROF-LC was developed to assess the protective factors for aggression and self-harm in those currently residing in a secure or non-secure psychiatric facility. Determining the predictive validity of the SAPROF-LC will allow for a balanced approach to inpatient management and treatment, in comparison to risk assessment alone. The study also aims to identify the strongest SAPROF-LC items, which predict fewer aggressive and self-harm incidents in this population. Identifying such factors will be useful for treatment planning.
The current study will require the research team to access patients' clinical documents, incident records, and clinical records to record demographic information and to allow scoring of the SAPROF-LC and the Historical Clinical Risk (HCR-20). The number, nature, and frequency of incidents for aggression and self-harm will be recorded at baseline (previous 6 months), six months follow-up, and twelve months follow-up. All patients residing at Ashworth High Secure Hospital, who are deemed by their Responsible Clinician as having the capacity to consent, will be eligible for the study. Participants will only be approached for their consent to use their data and will not be asked to answer any questionnaires or engage in an interview. It is expected that this study will last approximately two years; this will allow sufficient time for data collection, analysis, and approvals.REC name
South Central - Berkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/SC/0168
Date of REC Opinion
21 Apr 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion