Using Body Worn Cameras in Acute Mental Health Wards
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the use of Body Worn Cameras in Acute Mental Health Wards: A scoping study
IRAS ID
266216
Contact name
Alan Simpson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King’s College London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 2 days
Research summary
Body worn cameras (BWCs) are mobile audio and video capture devices allow the wearer to record what they see and hear. This technology is currently used by public services such as the police and increasingly within healthcare settings, however there is little research surrounding their use in mental health services (n=3 studies, none of which consult with service users’ views). The purpose of this study is to conduct the first study to explore the views of mental health service users and staff regarding the use of BWCs in acute inpatient mental health settings to inform how such technology can be used ethically and safely, or if it should be used at all.
Using a qualitative design we will talk to a wide range of people with experience of being a patient or staff member working on inpatient mental health wards to help us understand their views on this emerging technology, and how it may or may not impact on them. We will do this by conducting a series of semi-structured interviews across a range of wards with both patients and staff. We will recruit service users who have been an admitted to an acute mental health inpatient ward for adults with capacity to give informed consent OR staff who have been working on or managing an acute mental health inpatient ward for adults with capacity to give informed consent.
Recruitment will take place across four NHS Trusts, recruiting staff (n=5 per site; 20 total) and service users (n=5 per site; 20 total) alongside additional telephone interviews conducted with service users (n=10) to carry out comparative analysis regarding whether the public service user voice on social media reflects the current views of those on inpatient wards. We will also aim to recruit and telephone interview Mental Health Nurse Directors (n=6).REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/LO/0232
Date of REC Opinion
14 Apr 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion