Stakeholder Consultation- Physical Activity & Inpatient Mental Health
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Co-design of a research study to evaluate a physical activity intervention in inpatient acute mental health settings: pre-protocol study and stakeholder involvement.
IRAS ID
321626
Contact name
Michelle Glascott
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Physical activity (PA) is an effective intervention supporting recovery from many forms of mental ill health (NICE, 2022); however, it’s still not routinely offered by mental health services (Way et al, 2018). In 2021, we conducted a small study evaluating the impact of implementing a PA on a female acute mental health ward (AMHW). The patients were involved in designing the study and choice of PA. Over a 2-week period, we ran the physical activities each day for 30 minutes. We evaluated impact using individual and collective measures, and gathered qualitative feedback from staff and patients. Despite limitations in relation to sample size and study design, there were promising signs to suggest the intervention may have an impact on reducing incidents on the ward (violence/aggression/ rapid tranquilisation). The data also indicated that that the intervention may improve ward atmosphere, cohesion between staff and patients and feelings of wellbeing and self-confidence.
This proposal aims to build on this initial study, co-designing a research protocol to evaluate the impact of PA on AMHW’s across two NHS sites. To design this protocol, we will engage key stakeholders (people with recent lived experience of inpatient care and inpatient care teams) in focus groups to design the PAs that will be used in the research, and to shape the evaluation methods.
Participants will take part in one focus group of their peers, lasting no longer than 90 minutes in duration. The focus groups will be facilitated by two researchers- one lived experience, the other a mental health clinician. The data will be analysed by an academic partner and the findings will be used to design a research protocol to evaluate the impact of PA on AMHW environments.REC name
East of England - Cambridge East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/EE/0089
Date of REC Opinion
12 Apr 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion