Autism, borderline personality disorder and the inpatient experience
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding the experience of accessing inpatient mental health services with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).
IRAS ID
333487
Contact name
Ian Smith
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Lancaster University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The researcher wants to understand what it is like to be on an inpatient mental health ward if you have diagnoses of autism and borderline personality disorder (BPD). Autistic people often struggle with communication and have sensory issues. People with BPD can struggle to manage their emotions and often do risky things.
Autistic people and people with BPD have both said it can be hard to access and engage with mental health services. They are also more likely to go into hospital with mental health problems. There is no research looking at what it is like to be an inpatient for someone with autism and BPD.The researcher hopes that this project will help gather perspectives about care in inpatient services for those with both diagnoses, which may inform staff about the challenges faced for those with autism and BPD. This would be good for service users, staff and carers. It may help staff feel more confident working with autistic people who have BPD.
In the study, participants will be recruited from inpatient wards in the North West of England. The researcher will interview people on wards who have autism and BPD. These interviews should last roughly 1 hour. Participants will be asked about their feelings towards their diagnoses, their experience of the ward, how they feel others view their diagnoses and how they feel their diagnoses may have influenced their stay on the ward. The researcher will then bring together themes from the interviews. Interview questions have been written in consultation with experts by experience, who commented on the appropriateness of language choice. Experts by experience will also be consulted when writing up the results.
The thesis will be submitted as part of the researcher's doctorate in clinical psychology.REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/LO/0073
Date of REC Opinion
8 Feb 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion