VOLUME 6
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An Exploratory Randomised Controlled Trial Assessing Volunteering in Mental Health Care for People with Psychosis.
IRAS ID
163201
Contact name
Stefan Priebe
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen Mary University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 4 months, 1 days
Research summary
People living with mental illness in the community frequently become socially isolated, which leads to worse mental and physical outcomes in the longer term. The VOLUME programme seeks to investigate whether volunteer companions can alleviate this social isolation and improve a person’s social life and participation in social activities. Companionship in the context of this project will involve a volunteer spending time weekly, on a one-to-one basis with a person with mental illness with the explicit purpose of helping them become involved in local social networks and activities. We will conduct an exploratory randomised controlled trial to see whether companions can help socially isolated people living with psychosis in the community. A group of patient participants will be individually matched with a volunteer companion for one year during which they will spend social time together on a weekly basis. Pairs will jointly decide which activities to do, and will be encouraged to participate in local group activities. Companions will be given training on their role, a written manual and a separate list of local activities that are free or cost very little. The companion will be supported by a volunteer co-ordinator from the research team throughout the length of the trial. In the control condition patient participants will receive one 2 hour meeting during which they will receive information about free or inexpensive local activities, and will discuss possible options with a member of the research team. We will take measures of the social networks and engagement in social activities, quality of life, self-efficacy and clinical symptoms of patient participants at study entry, 6, 12 and 18 months into the study. We will also assess the attitudes of volunteer participants to mental illness, volunteer confidence, and the volunteering experience through qualitative interviews.
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/0674
Date of REC Opinion
20 May 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion