Exploring Service User experiences of Mental Health Act assessments
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring Service User experiences of Mental Health Act assessment
IRAS ID
195549
Contact name
Louise J Blakley
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 30 days
Research summary
This is a small scale research project exploring the experience of being assessed under the Mental Health Act (MHA) developed by a team of professionals and service users. It will look at the assessment stage when professional decide whether to detain a person. Being assessed and detained under MHA are the most coercive processes within mental health service as can remove a person’s liberty. This process is criticised for being focused on legal and practical issues rather than the service user perspective. There is a lack of robust studies of service users’ experiences of assessments, resulting in limited information to improve service users’ decision making, collaboration and professional practice in these circumstances.
Methodology The chosen methodological approach is Phenomenological as it captures the lived experience of the event. The data collection method will be one off qualitative interviews with service users who have experienced MHA assessment in the last two years. From these interviews, themes will be identified through thematic analysis using a framework method.
Results and dissemination As this an exploratory project, the results are unknown. A dissemination workshop will be organised to discuss results of this study with service users (participants will be invited), local professionals and service managers The research team will also write articles and present findings at conferences.REC name
South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SC/0639
Date of REC Opinion
6 Dec 2016
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion