How do NHS-IAPT service-users talk about their recovery? V.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How do NHS-IAPT service-users talk about their mental-health recovery? A critical discourse analysis in primary-care NHS-IAPT
IRAS ID
335801
Contact name
Lilian Skilbeck
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
City University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
This study aims to understand how service-users construct their personal meanings of mental-health recovery. In line with the NHS agenda for personalized-care, this study will benefit service-users and the public by offering alternative possibilities for enhanced patient-care and outcomes. According to the World Health Organization, mental-health problems are one of the global major causes of disability, affecting about 1 in 4 people. In the UK, the NHS-IAPT mental-health service is founded on the government clinical-recovery model with the threshold set at 50% (1 in 2 service-users is expected to recover). NHS-England annual recovery data shows that attaining this recovery target has been challenging since the inception of NHS-IAPT in 2008, especially for services in deprived Boroughs. Nationally, NHS-IAPT services continue to grapple with how to meet this deficit.
A preliminary literature-review highlighted that current clinical-recovery measures are focused on service discourses of recovery which measure quantitative improvement on diagnostic-measures, with a gap in the research on qualitative-data on service-user discourses i.e., personal-recovery. The currently proposed study aims to fill this gap by gathering service-user discourses. The aim is to recruit 10 to 15 participants who have completed a course of therapy from an adult NHS-IAPT service. Those unable to give written informed-consent, in active-therapy and with severe mental-health conditions or risk are not eligible. Those opting-in and eligible will complete one semi-structured interview lasting about 60 minutes, face-to-face or via MS-Teams, to answer questions around their personal meanings of recovery. The timeline between recruitment-commencement and interview-completion is anticipated as 4-6 months. Interview-data will be transcribed verbatim and analyzed by the researcher using critical discourse analysis to identify themes in these service-user discourses and how they are positioned in-relation to the service discourses. It is hoped that the findings would inform research and policy in order to enhance patient-centred care and outcomes.REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/SC/0419
Date of REC Opinion
30 Nov 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion