Q-method evaluative study for Psychotherapy Self-Help Plymouth Website
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An evaluative study of the Psychotherapy Department Self Help Plymouth Website using Q-Methodology
IRAS ID
211908
Contact name
Alyson Norman
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Plymouth University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 28 days
Research summary
The waiting list for primary and secondary care in the UK is typically a long time and can exceed a year in some cases. A protracted wait for psychological therapies are at best a frustration, and at worst can exacerbate symptoms for the service user. In 2015 NHS England set new guidelines to reduce the waiting time, but this will have no effect for those waiting in the short to medium terms. This research aims to start exploring the use of the internet as a mental health aid.\nThe aim of this research is to evaluate the Psychotherapy Self Help Plymouth (PSHP) website. Through this research an online self-help advice plan will be created, as well as exploring the different perceived self-help needs for those on the waiting list from three different groups- clinical experts, service user experts and IT experts. Participants will be taking part in a Q-Sort in order to collect personal opinions of an already created self-help website. I will be allowing participants to look and explore the current PSHP website, and will then take part in the Q-sort component of the evaluation which involves ranking opinion statements on an agree to disagree scale in a quasi-normal distribution (on a sheet provided). Through factor analysis I hope to explore if there is a difference in what is viewed as important for a self-help waiting list aid from different expert groups. \nThe Q-Method will be supervised by a member of staff within the Plymouth University Psychology Department. Participants will be recruited through Livewell Southwest NHS and Plymouth University. The review of the website itself will take place in a private room either within Centre court of Livewell Southwest or within the psychology department of Plymouth University.\n
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 1
REC reference
16/NS/0124
Date of REC Opinion
10 Nov 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion