Communication and Understanding of Distress in Female Forensic Care
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An Expolration of How Distress is Communicated and Understood by Women in High Secure Forensic Healthcare? How is this Distress Interpreted by the staff who work with them?
IRAS ID
116475
Contact name
Jane Jones
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Derby
Research summary
Female forensic healthcare settings are reported as areas where high levels of distress can lead to potentially harmful behaviours directed inwardly to the self or outwardly to others.
This study aim is to gain greater insight into the lived experience of psychological distress on thoughts, emotions and behaviors for women in high secure care by answering the question:
How is distress communicated and understood by women patients who are cared for in high secure care? How is this distress interpreted by the staff who work with them?
The objectives employed to gather the information required in order to answer the question are;
• To recruit voluntary participants for the study who will give copies of the content of their Personal Distress Signatures and who will take part in a one to one, semi structured interview designed to obtain a greater understanding of the individual’s perspective on the subject of distress.
• To recruit a cross section of staff representative of the multi disciplinary team who will take part in a semi structured interview focusing on the patients experience of distress
• To use thematic analysis as a method to understand the written content of the Personal Distress Signatures
• To use Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to understand the information gathered in the semi structured interviews.
• To use the outcomes of the study to answer the question which in turn will be used to develop and improve services and approaches for women in high secure care to help in their management of the experience of distress and distress related behaviours.REC name
East Midlands - Leicester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/EM/0183
Date of REC Opinion
11 Jun 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion