Professionals’ experiences of working with sexual offenders with LD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Nursing professionals' experiences of working with sexual offenders who have a learning disability (LD)
IRAS ID
264142
Contact name
Claire Downs
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Lancaster University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
n/a, n/a
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
This study aims to explore nursing professionals’ (i.e. nurses, healthcare assistants, etc.) experiences of working with sexual offenders who have a learning disability. Previous research has highlighted that working with sexual offenders can be challenging to professionals, yet little attention has been paid to sexual offenders who have a learning disability also. Working with this client group has been associated with increased risk of professionals experiencing compassion fatigue (i.e. a sense of disillusionment and hopelessness from their work).
Focusing on nursing professionals is deemed important, as current literature has often focused upon the roles of psychologists and psychotherapists who are involved in offering interventions. Little attention has been paid to nursing, who often have the most direct contact with their patients, and of whom are less likely to receive supervision of training specifically designed to support them with working with this client group. As nursing shortages continues, particularly in relation to mental health and learning disability services, more needs to be done to understand how best support this professional group in order to reduce the risk of compassion fatigue being experienced and to ensure a high quality of care is maintained. This is deemed integral to reducing future risk of re-offending in sexual offenders with a learning disability. This research aims to identify what the emotional experiences of working with sexual offenders with a learning disability are, and explore how professionals may cope with the challenges associated with their work. It will also be beneficial to explore the positive aspects professionals perceive from their roles, as this may be important to identify what may reduce the likelihood of compassion fatigue occurring in this population. The study aims to interview up to 12 professionals to identify what the common experiences of this professional group are.
REC name
N/A
REC reference
N/A