Radicalisation and General Practice
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Radicalisation and General Practice Scoping Questionnaire of GP confidence and competence in detecting early warning signs of possible radicalisation
IRAS ID
218261
Contact name
Nat Wright
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
SPECTRUM COMMUNITY HEALTH CIC
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 27 days
Research summary
‘Radicalisation’ is defined as a process by which an individual or group adopts increasingly extreme political, social, or religious views, beliefs and aspirations that seek to reject and even destabilise the status quo. In the UK Government's Prevent counter-terror strategy, ‘extremism’ is defined as “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.” The United Nations highlights that ‘terrorism’ is a consequence of the adoption of such extreme ideals and defines it as, ‘any action… that is intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants, when the purpose of such act, by its nature and context, is to intimidate a population, or to compel a Government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act’. A key tenet of the UK government response is the crucial role that health services have to play in the Prevent agenda. Primary care is mentioned specifically as an area requiring ongoing support. Such an agenda has become more pressing with recent terrorist activity in European cities, which mirrors a global increase in both frequency and severity of terrorist activity over the last year.
However, many primary care practitioners feel both uncomfortable and unconfident in practising the principles outlined in the Prevent strategy. The Prevent strategy places a responsibility upon professionals to refer patients whom they are concerned have either become, or are at risk of becoming radicalised. Referral processes vary between region (in North Yorkshire this is via the ‘safeguarding hub’ to the channel officer).
This project therefore proposes to scope current primary care attitudes, awareness and practice in this area such that the workforce can be better supported in addressing the threat posed to communities by extremism.REC name
East Midlands - Leicester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EM/0507
Date of REC Opinion
9 Feb 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion