Shared Decision Making in Risk Assessments and Risk Management.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Shared Decision Making in Risk Assessments and Risk Management.
IRAS ID
213809
Contact name
Nafiso Ahmed
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
City University London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 1 days
Research summary
Background: Risk Assessment (RA) and Risk Management (RM) are essential components in the delivery of mental health services. Policy directives highlight the need for mental health professionals to continuously identify and manage the potential risk of harm to service users, staff and the public. Promoting recovery is also a key priority for mental health services and guidelines recommend for shared decision making (SDM) to be implemented at each step of the RA and RM process.
Rationale: A preliminary search of the literature indicated that there is little evidence demonstrating shared decision making in risk assessment and risk management practices (Langan, 2008; Simpson et al., 2016; Woods, 2013).
Aim/Objectives: To our knowledge, no studies have specifically explored the factors that influence whether or not SDM happens in RA and RM practices. Therefore, the proposed study will use psychological theories to investigate the barriers and enablers to SDM in RA and RM, as perceived by service users and professionals.
Methods: A qualitative methodological approach will be used to identify the barriers and enablers to implementing SDM in RA and RM practices. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with service users (n=8) and mental health professionals (n=10). Each interview will last around 60 minutes. All participants who take part will give informed consent.
Expected Outcomes: This study is part of a PhD project that aims to develop and evaluate a novel intervention to increase SDM in RA and RM with people with severe mental illness. The findings of this study will be used to build an evidence base that may be useful in the development of the future behaviour change intervention.
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/1918
Date of REC Opinion
2 Dec 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion