Social Connectedness and Identity in Advanced Illness
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A qualitative study exploring experiences and perceptions of social connectedness and identity among adults living with advanced illness and their informal carers.
IRAS ID
320564
Contact name
Fliss Murtagh
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Hull
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 9 months, 31 days
Research summary
Recent years have seen an increase in number of people living with advanced illnesses. This means that more people are facing long periods of poor health and impaired ability to do everything they wish. In recent times, more people with poor health are choosing to remain at home with support from family, friends and community health and social care professionals. Many studies on advanced illness have focused on physical health and interaction with health care systems. Meaningful interactions and connection with others and a sense of belonging are important for well-being of both the patients and the family and friends who help care for them. However, interacting with others, maintaining social connections and roles and participation in social activities may be threatened by advanced illness and associated caring responsibilities for the informal carers. In some instances, advanced illness can give the patient and informal carers opportunities to connect with others, as family, friends, health, and social care professionals come together to support the sick person.
We will seek to understand the experiences of social connectedness and identity for adults living with advanced illness and their informal carers. Patients living with an advanced illness attending Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre (ICC) in Hull and their informal caregivers (family or friends) will be recruited for this study.
In-depth interviews will be conducted with the patients and the informal caregivers. We will seek to understand what contributes to positive and negative experiences and identify ways to improve social well-being for people living with advanced illness.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/NW/0013
Date of REC Opinion
13 Mar 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion