Version 1:Housing experiences of women with ID in locked care settings
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How do women with intellectual disabilities in locked care settings make sense of their housing experiences? What would they value in future homes?
IRAS ID
195651
Contact name
Emma Marie Williams
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research Support Group, University of Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 9 months, 20 days
Research summary
How do women with intellectual disabilities in locked care settings make sense of their housing experiences? What would they value in future homes?
Inpatient services have been branded as “another form of institutionalisation and have no place in the 21st Century” with increasing drive towards care in the community (‘Transforming Care: A national response to Winterbourne View Hospital’, 2012). There is a drive to consult service users who live in such settings (‘No voice unheard no right ignored’, 2015). The current research would go some way to giving a voice to this service user group.
This research will involve women with mild/moderate learning disabilities residing in locked care settings. There is a dearth of literature with this group with a need for more research (Beber, 2012; Hellenbach et al, 2015). Only two studies explored the subjective experiences of these women and staff working with them (James et al, 2005; Lee et al, 2014). Both highlighted the complexity of their needs stating consideration should be given to how they understand and manage their experiences. No research explores how they make sense of their housing experiences or what they value in a ‘home’ or care environment. A secure placement may cost £300,000 per year (Hellenbach et al, 2015). To ensure specialist placements are utilised appropriately more research is needed to explore individuals’ values, needs and wishes.
Semi-structured interviews will explore personal experiences of where women with intellectual disabilities have lived, the secure inpatient setting in which they currently live, how they make sense of these experiences and what they would value in future homes. Participants will be identified by clinicians working with them. Qualitative analysis will be used to identify themes.
This would add to a very small but growing literature highlighting how we might better meet the needs of these individuals.
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0130
Date of REC Opinion
21 Mar 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion