Service user views of chaplaincy services
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How could co-production principles improve mental health spiritual and pastoral care (chaplaincy) services?
IRAS ID
215010
Contact name
Andrew Todd
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS FT
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 1 months, 1 days
Research summary
In summer 2015 we asked service users in Mersey Care NHS FT for their opinions of the mental health service Spiritual and Pastoral Care Service (also known as chaplaincy), we wanted to know what they liked and disliked and wanted changing so that we could improve the service. Although everyone was asked for their opinions those who volunteered were almost all white Christians. The Liverpool area is particularly more white and Christian than the UK average.
To investigate if the results from Mersey Care are unusual because of the people who volunteered or if the racial and religious background does not actually matter, we want to repeat the study in another city. Sheffield is economically similar to Liverpool but racially it is more diverse and religiously it is very different. Sheffield has slightly higher than average numbers of Muslims and much higher than average numbers of people who describe themselves as having no faith or are atheist (according to the 2011 UK census).
It is possible that this population may have very different spiritual needs to those in Liverpool. To find out we will interview 20 mental health inpatients. We will ask similar questions to those in Liverpool so their answers are comparable. All inpatients on adult acute wards and older adult wards will be invited to volunteer. Those who do will have an interview with a researcher which will last up to 1 hour, it will take place on the ward but in a private room so they can speak freely. All responses will be made anonymous so no one can be identified in reports.REC name
Wales REC 6
REC reference
16/WA/0320
Date of REC Opinion
5 Oct 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion