Transition from Forensic Hospital to Community for people with ASD v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Experiences of Transitioning from a Secure Forensic Hospital to the Community for People with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
IRAS ID
299942
Contact name
Lori Appleyard-Ewings
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
NA, NA
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
People with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are over-represented in forensic settings (Tromans, 2018). It is widely understood that change, transitions and uncertainty can be challenging for this group of individuals (Paola et al, 2020). A trajectory through forensic services often involves multiple changes and transitions for example with staff teams, physical environments and levels of security. Additional uncertainty may arise when discharge planning due to insufficient suitable community care provision (Mansell, 2010).
The Department of Health (2008) highlight the importance of service user involvement in planning care and acknowledge that certain groups can be overlooked in this process, including people with ASD. The importance of service user involvement is embedded within policy and narratives around good service delivery but research has suggested that the experience of service users is often lost at points such as admission to and discharge from services (Wright et al, 2016). To the authors knowledge, the experiences of people with ASD transitioning from secure care to the community have not been explored.
The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) Guidelines for Supporting People with the Transition Between Inpatient Mental Health Settings and Community or Care Settings (2016) suggest that qualitative research exploring the experiences of people with complex needs, such as autism, is needed to further inform recommendations.
This project will aim to: use qualitative methods to explore the experiences of autistic adults (18+) transitioning from a secure hospital to the community, aim to understand how autistic people can be supported in the transition from secure to community care and make recommendations for future service delivery.
Participants will be recruited from community services within Southern Health NHS Trust, Devon Partnership Trust and Avon and Wiltshire NHS trusts. The study will involve interviews which will be analysed qualitatively.
REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
21/IEC08/0026
Date of REC Opinion
13 Sep 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion