Issues of cultural difference for staff working with psychosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring issues of cultural difference for professionals working with psychosis
IRAS ID
183201
Contact name
Roya Afsharzadegan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of East London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 5 days
Research summary
This research project aims to explore issues of cultural difference for professionals working in psychosis services. Such services are very diverse and involve engaging people from a variety of cultures, therefore it is important to explore professionals' experiences of working with this group of people. This is also important as psychosis is a term which is defined as against what is considered ‘normal’ within a particular culture. If we fail to differentiate a culturally-acceptable behaviour from a psychosis, we are at risk of mislabelling a person which has implications for the individual.
I aim to explore this using semi-structured interviews with ten professionals acting as Care Coordinators in Early Intervention in Psychosis services. Care coordinators can be of a variety of professional backgrounds, for example social workers, nurses and occupational therapists. Care-Coordinators have been chosen as they often have a great deal of contact with service users and their families. Interviews will be focused on people’s experiences of working with people who are of a different culture to them; which means that people of any background, gender and religion can partake in the research.
I hope to be conducting semi-structured interviews with ten Care coordinators in Early Intervention in Psychosis services, with each interview lasting approximately 1 hour per person. The questions I will ask will pertain to difficulties as well as learning points from working with people of other cultures - both service users and their families. Interviews will take place in clinic rooms in NHS Early Intervention in Psychosis services and will be audio recorded for accuracy. Data will be transcribed following each interview and analysed using thematic analysis in order to identify common themes found in people’s responses. This may highlight potential areas for development in practice when working with people of other cultures.
REC name
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REC reference
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