Recovery and risk: staff and patient experiences in forensic I.D.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Recovery and risk: an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of staff and patient experiences in a high secure forensic intellectual disability service.
IRAS ID
320071
Contact name
Kirsty Haig
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The State Hospital
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
Within forensic mental health, there is little reference to what 'recovery' means for people with an intellectual disability, and whether recovery and recovery principles can or should be applied to forensic intellectual disability populations. This research study argues that there is a need to focus on this population as a vulnerable sub-group within forensic mental health. Individuals with an intellectual disability are over-represented within criminal justice systems and have been typically overlooked within research and clinical practice. It is also unclear whether recovery principles that are identified for general forensic populations are applicable for this population, or whether other factors should be considered. For example, it is unclear whether the presence of intellectual disability influences professional views of individual responsibility for offending behaviours, as well as the views held by the individual themselves, and to what extent this may have an impact on interpersonal dynamics and connection between staff and patients.
This research aims to explore the experiences and understanding of patients residing within the intellectual disability service in a high secure hospital, as well as the experiences and understanding of professional staff working alongside them. Individual lived experiences of recovery principles, and how this interacts with the risk management required for forensic patients, will be explored. A secondary aim of the study is to explore attitudes regarding individual responsibility for actions, and whether this influences beliefs about recovery and risk within forensic intellectual disability populations.
This study will conduct semi-structured interviews with staff and patients.
The results of this study will add to the limited research available examining the experiences of individuals with intellectual disabilities residing in forensic settings, and set pointers for future research. This study aims to benefit participants by giving patient participants a voice within research and providing staff participants with an opportunity for reflection.REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 1
REC reference
22/ES/0053
Date of REC Opinion
13 Jan 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion