The relationship between patients and homelessness services
Research type
Research Study
Full title
What is the relationship between people experiencing homelessness and homelessness services?
IRAS ID
336441
Contact name
Inke Schreiber
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Canterbury Christ Church University, Salomons Centre for Applied Psychology
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/a, Will be registered once approved
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 1 days
Research summary
There is currently limited research into the relationship between people experiencing homelessness and support services. Some research has suggested people experiencing homelessness have viewed their interactions with services as objectifying, that they are not treated as having an individual identity and reduced to a societal stereotype. Research with staff in hostels have identified difficulties in responsiveness of support between services as a barrier in accessing services for hostel residents. There has been little research however, sought to explore the perspectives of both service providers and patients who use services, to better understand some of the things that can help and hinder engagement.
In the context of the current project, the term service engagement is used to refer to elements of both patient and public participation, as well as the therapeutic relationship. This concept is applied to assess the extent to which an individual feels actively involved in the care they receive, and their capacity to cultivate strong working relationships with the services provided. This is defined here to demonstrate the levels of engagement that this project is interested in exploring.
A recent Inclusion Health Groups guidance published by the NHS has outlined challenged faced by groups who are socially excluded, such as those experiencing homelessness. People are often deemed to be ‘hard to access’ which locates the problem within the individual, rather than within the perception of the support offered. Theory has suggested individuals will likely feel more motivated to engage if they perceive a sense of autonomy, relatedness, and competency.
Consenting participants recruited from homelessness services across the Borough of Croydon will be interviewed to explore their individual views on the social processes through which service users and services respond to each other, and how this may impact their ability and willingness to engage in support.REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/WM/0034
Date of REC Opinion
30 Apr 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion