RCT of COPe-support online resource for carers
Research type
Research Study
Full title
EFFIP (E-support for Families and Friends of Individuals affected by Psychosis): A randomised controlled trial of a co-produced online intervention for carers
IRAS ID
240005
Contact name
Jacqueline Sin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
St George's, University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 9 months, 27 days
Research summary
Psychosis is the most common severe mental illness that affects 1% of the population. Coping with psychosis is often a challenging demand for the individual as well as for everyone close to them, including family members, relatives, partners and close friends (referred to as carers hereafter). Extant research has identified an increased vulnerability to mental ill health among carers, partly due to the burden and distress associated with caregiving demands. Conversely, increased wellbeing and coping in carers is believed to have positive effects in shaping the service users' prognosis. Effective interventions for maintaining and promoting the wellbeing of carers are needed and indeed now part of the legal requirement of the Care Act 2014. Recent research indicates that the internet can be a promising medium for providing such an intervention for carers.
Thd EFFIP (E-support for Families & Friends of Individuals affected by Psychosis) Project aims to develop and evaluate an online resource to promote the wellbeing and caregiving experiences of carers supporting a loved one with psychosis. The overall EFFIP project lasts for 5 years (from 2016) and uses mixed methods combining qualitative, quantitative, usability-testing and randomised controlled trial (RCT) with inbuilt process evaluation methods, along the development, feasibility and evaluative phases of the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for complex interventions. In the last two years (2016-2017), we have successfully undertaken five studies and meta-synthesised findings from systematic reviews and ideas collected from carers and service users, and health care professionals to co-produce the online resource. The resource provides information, peer support and coping strategies for their caregiving roles and promotes self-care. The current parallel-arm RCT, with an inbuilt process evaluation study, aims to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the online resource in improving carers' wellbeing and other health related outcomes (such as caregiving experience, knowledge), compared to the waitlist-control.
REC name
South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/SC/0104
Date of REC Opinion
27 Feb 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion