Black and Asian patients’ experience of talking therapy - version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Experiences of Black and Asian service users in South London who prematurely discontinue psychological therapy for depression or anxiety.
IRAS ID
136191
Contact name
Melanie Abas
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Research summary
Title: Experiences of Black and Asian service users in South London who prematurely discontinue psychological therapy for depression or anxiety.
Local figures show more than 100 black African / Caribbean and Asian patients have failed to complete treatment of depression delivered by Southwark Psychological Therapies Service (SPTS). Premature termination of psychological therapy may reduce likelihood of recovery (Hampson & Beavers, 1996).
An analysis of 125 studies found ethnicity to be one of the predictors of failure to complete a course of psychological treatment (Wierzbicki & Pekarik, 1993). The authors of that study suggested that simple demographics (e.g. ethnicity, gender, age) do not explain why patients ‘drop-out’ of psychological therapy. For example, some studies have found that ‘drop-out’ rates are higher when therapists failed to accurately understand how clients viewed their problem (Epperson et al., 1983; Pekarik, 1988).
In this study, a researcher will interview 12-15 Black and Asian service users in order gain an understanding of why they did not complete their psychological treatment. Interviews will last for up to 60 minutes and will involve asking participants questions about their views and experience of using Southwark Psychological Therapies Service (SPTS).
Interviews will be held in the home of the participant or an interview room at the Clinical Research Facility at King’s College London. Interviews will be audio-recorded and transcribed word-for-word by the researcher (Tony Hirving0, who will analyse transcripts by looking for similarities and differences in participants’ views and experiences.
Findings from the study will make a useful contribution to the on-going development of Southwark Psychological Therapies Service (SPTS), which strives to provide effective therapies that engage patients of all ethnicities referred for treatment of depression or anxiety.
REC name
London - London Bridge Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/0125
Date of REC Opinion
14 Mar 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion