SAPROF 4
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The prospective validity of the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors (SAPROF) for violence risk in secure settings and its dynamic relationship with violence: a UK study
IRAS ID
155136
Contact name
Alina Haines
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
Research summary
The study aims to help us understand the role of protective factors in helping people to avoid being violent. SAPROF (Structured Assessment of Protective Factors) is a new checklist designed to study protective factors and we are testing it to see if it might improve the assessment and management of risk of violence. This instrument was developed in response to a growing demand for the use of both risk and protective factors in violence risk assessment (as opposed to risk factors only). The majority of research regarding the validity of risk assessment tools have examined the relationship between a SAPROF score at a single time point (i.e. baseline) and violence at subsequent single point in the future (i.e. after follow up), using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. Such an approach does not take into account a fundamental feature of risk profiles generated by use of SPJ tools which is the fluctuating nature of many aspects such as insight and medication adherence. These features are dynamic and do not necessarily remain fixed over time. Such dynamic fluctuations must be considered if valid risk assessments are to be conducted. The study proposed here seeks to take the exploration of the SAPROF instrument further by employing multiple repeated measurements to examine the dynamic relationship between the SAPROF scores and violence over much shorter periods of time than previously researched, i.e. every 4-6 weeks. Furthermore, the study aims to examine the variations in degree of dynamic changes between individual service users. This prospective study will collect data on a sample of 100 forensic mental health inpatients within a trust in the NW of England. Service users’ clinical notes will be accessed following written informed consent.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NW/0300
Date of REC Opinion
22 May 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion