The "Occupation Matters" Experience
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A qualitative analysis of the experiences of people, with severe mental health conditions, participating in an Occupation Matters Programme.
IRAS ID
203423
Contact name
Alison Newport
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Brighton
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 29 days
Research summary
The Occupation Matters Programme (OMP) is an Occupational Therapy intervention which uses a lifestyle approach to promote mental health recovery. It consists of twenty weekly group therapy sessions and five individual sessions and aims to explore, with its participants, the connection between activities and health and to re-design lifestyles to include health promoting activities.
The use of a lifestyle approach is well established as a preventative intervention for well, older people to adapt to healthy ageing (Jackson 2012). However, this approach has been adjusted within Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SABP) to meet the needs of working age adults with a severe mental health condition. These adjustments from the original lifestyle approach focus on: adapting daily activities to promote mental health recovery; participating in a work role; reducing the length of the programme; and the careful grading of risk-taking activities for people with a severe illness rather than the emphasis on a healthy population.
This study is therefore needed to provide an evidence base for the use of this intervention for people with severe mental health conditions and provide an understanding of what it is like for these individuals to experience this programme as part of their recovery. There is currently no existing research that provides this knowledge base.
This qualitative study is part of a Masters in research funded by National Institute for Health Research and will be conducted from October 2016-September 2017 in SABP. Six participants will be recruited to take-part in two semi-structured interviews (week 10 and week 20) and will be eligible if they start the OMP in October 2016. The interviews will explore participants’ experiences of the programme and help to develop an understanding of the benefits (if any) this has in their mental health recovery. Participants will be sent the lay summary and research article.REC name
London - Surrey Borders Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/1826
Date of REC Opinion
21 Oct 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion