Cultural Activities for Social Participation in Mental Health Care v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Cultural activities for social participation in Mental Health Care: exploring how far taking part affects social isolation.
IRAS ID
133615
Contact name
Justine Karpusheff
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Mersey Care NHS Trust
Research summary
The aim of the research is to explore the following question: How does taking part in cultural activities help the ‘social participation’ and contribute to the ‘social capital’ of people with mental health issues in acute care? It has been asserted that there is clear evidence that people with mental health problems are socially excluded. Moreover, where people have active social contacts those networks appear to largely consist of contact with other people with mental health issues through care services. Care services are increasingly going beyond traditional clinical care to address people’s social lives and this has led to a growth in partnerships between mental health services and the cultural sector aiming to provide social activities and reduce social exclusion. These include a range of cultural activities, including music, football, dance, book clubs, gardening and art and craft. However, the evidence of how far cultural activities can contribute to changes in a person’s social participation remains unclear. Moreover, it may be that these opportunities provide social contact, but they may not provide resources or social capital to widen those contacts beyond care services. This study will aim to explore that gap in the evidence base by using a framework of asking what works, for who, when and why. To answer these questions the study will look at the social participation of 30 people in contact with acute mental health issues over a two year period and examine the role of cultural activities in their lives. This will be gathered through four semi-structured interviews at six monthly intervals, participant observation of those taking part in cultural activities and exploration of clinical data on social participation. The data will be gathered either at in-patient settings or in the community, dependent on the participant’s circumstances. This study is funded through a PhD.
REC name
North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/NW/0550
Date of REC Opinion
5 Sep 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion