OAs' preferences and their effects on clinicians’ decision-making V4
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A feasibility study examining treatment and outcome preferences of older adults (OAs) with mental health difficulties during COVID-19 and the effects of preferences on clinician decisions about treatment.
IRAS ID
281149
Contact name
Rachel Cross
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 30 days
Research summary
The delivery of evidence-based practice (EBP) is mandated for treating mental health difficulties. EBP requires clinicians to use the best available research evidence, alongside their clinical expertise and patients’ characteristics/preferences, to inform the provision of appropriate interventions. Delivering interventions in line with patient treatment preferences (i.e. what patients want treatment to involve) has been found to have a significant positive impact on psychological therapy attendance and outcomes. However, research has shown that patient preferences are often overlooked in clinical decision-making.
Additional research is required to determine if these findings are replicable with different patient groups, such as older adults (OAs; age 65 or over). This study aims to establish the feasibility and acceptability of using self-report questionnaires to elicit OAs’ mental health treatment and outcome preferences and to determine whether clinicians consider these preferences when selecting treatments. The COVID-19 pandemic has made these issues even more salient. Access to psychological care might degrade post COVID if we don’t learn how to respond to patient preferences. Therefore, this study’s secondary aim is to establish a preliminary understanding of OAs’ mental health treatment and outcome preferences during COVID-19, and if clinicians account for these preferences when selecting treatments.
Two groups of participants will be recruited and asked to complete questionnaires: patients and clinicians. Patient participants will only be recruited from patients referred to NHS Lanarkshire’s Psychological Therapies for Older People (PTOP) for psychological therapy. Clinician participants will be recruited from OA psychology teams across NHS Scotland, including PTOP. How feasible and acceptable participants find the questionnaires will be described as will participants’ responses.
The results will be used to develop improved methods for understanding treatment and outcome preferences in OAs. This will help clinicians better understand what OAs prioritise when seeking treatment and what they think about treatment options.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
20/WS/0143
Date of REC Opinion
30 Oct 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion