Recovery in ethnic minorities using forensic mental health hospitals
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How do ethnic minorities experience recovery in a forensic mental health hospital?
IRAS ID
233345
Contact name
Laura Mills
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Canterbury Christ Church University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 20 days
Research summary
Issues within forensic mental health hospitals, such as control, stigma and coercion, may act as barriers to recovery (defined as living a satisfying, hopeful and meaningful life [Anthony, 1993]) for service users.
These issues impact negatively on hope, self-identity, meaning and personal responsibility (Slade, 2009); important principles for secure recovery.
These principles are also important for those from ethnic minorities who also experience challenges to recovery due to stigma (West, Yanos & Malay, 2014). This population is over-represented in secure forensic mental health settings (Rutherford & Duggan).
Despite a review identifying that ethnic minorities may consider additional factors, such as spirituality, stigma, culturally specific considerations and collectivist factors, as important to recovery (Leamy, Bird, Boutillier, Williams and Slade, 2011), current research into recovery in this population is lacking, and as such these additional factors are currently lacking from recovery models (e.g. Drennan & Alred, 2012).
It is therefore clear that the perspectives of ethnic minorities detained within secure mental health hospitals are essential for improving understanding of this population’s experience of recovery and challenges which relate to this.
This research will therefore aim to develop a model of recovery that is applicable to this population with these additional challenges through exploration of the process of recovery in ethnic minority forensic mental health service users.
The research will aim to develop a model of the process of personal recovery for ethnic minorities who use forensic mental health services in order to answer the research question "What is the process of recovery in ethnic minorities who use forensic mental health services?
In order to answer this question, semi-structured interviews lasting up to fifty minutes will be conducted with participants who have accessed forensic mental health services, and who are of ethnic origin and speak English.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/SC/0561
Date of REC Opinion
16 Nov 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion