Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
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Rethinking ‘evidence’: towards survivor-led understandings
- Author:
- BERESFORD Peter
- Journal article citation:
- Open Mind, 171, March 2012, pp.6-7.
- Publisher:
- MIND
Evidence-based policy and practice involves a whole set of assumptions and hierarchies in research. As a result, ‘evidence’ tends to be dominated by academic researchers (often influenced by the physical sciences and medical approaches) and neglects the views and experiences of people who use and work in health and social services. This article argues that policy and practice in mental health needs to shift focus from the value base of ‘evidence-based’ to that of ‘knowledge-based’. Improvements can be made through meaningful engagement with a diverse cross-section of service users in order to properly address their needs and tailor appropriate services. Survivor and service user researchers are building up an increasing volume of credible knowledge which is beginning to have an impact on policy and practice. This is based on new research values of acknowledging subjectivity, engagement and the validity and contribution of experiential knowledge.
Researching mental health
- Author:
- CARR Sarah
- Journal article citation:
- Open Mind, 171, March 2012, pp.4-5.
- Publisher:
- MIND
Clinical research, working to a biomedical research agenda and model, is currently dominant in mental health research both in terms of funding and influence. This article argues that there needs to be a reconsideration of what is valuable and useful in mental health research. A great deal of evidence has been generated about mental health by research which looks at the social and psychological dimensions of mental health and distress, from many perspectives, including that of people who experience mental distress. However, the scientific experimental way of doing research rarely fits with investigations into the social and psychological influences on mental health and mental distress. People who have lived through mental distress and the mental health system have crucial insights into what works for them. This article calls for their voices to be brought into the conversation about mental health research in order to obtain a more holistic understanding of mental health.
What are mental health service users' priorities for research in the UK?
- Authors:
- ROSE Diana, FLEISCHMAN Pete, WYKES Til
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Mental Health, 17(5), October 2008, pp.520-530.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- London
This study investigates service users' priorities for mental health research and compares them with established priorities. Groups of service users were convened from the London boroughs of Southwark, Lewisham, Lambeth and Croydon. The study was informed by participatory research methodology. User accounts of their research priorities were analysed using a modified grounded theory approach. Service users in this study identified different research priorities from those of professionals. They wished to design and conduct more research themselves, and were more interested in research that was social and psychological rather than biomedical. They also wished to see investigations of alternative treatments to psychiatric medication. The research priorities of service users need further investigation, and effective structures should be developed and consolidated to ensure that these priorities become incorporated into the mental health research agenda.
Making activism a participatory, inclusive and developmental process: a research programme involving mental health service users
- Authors:
- BRYANT Wendy, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 34(7-8), 2019, pp.1264-1288.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Understanding real-world experiences and issues is a priority for research funders, yet there are challenges in directly engaging with people for evaluation and investigation of the professional services they receive. Much professional work takes place within institutional restrictions, arising from legislation, policy and local practices. Collaborative research is therefore complex but relevant for improving services. This research programme started in 2002 with focus group research, led by occupational therapists based in a local National Health Service trust and a university, followed by eight further projects including a Photovoice project. This programme and our perspectives from reflections suggest that the researchers do not always know who they are, what they want or who cares about research outcomes, but it is important to embrace the potential of activism, to energise and focus people for positive action, wherever they are based. (Edited publisher abstract)
‘I am not your nutter’: a personal reflection on commodification and comradeship in service user and survivor research
- Author:
- CARR Sarah
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 34(7-8), 2019, pp.1140-1153.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This article offers some personal reflections from a mental health service user/survivor researcher working in English academia. It is a critical examination of what mainstream clinical mental health researchers and funders appear to need us to be, and what some in the service user and survivor movement perceive us to be. The discussion examines questions about commodification and public and patient involvement and contemporary challenges for service user and survivor research as a separate discipline operating within and beyond academia in England. The article concludes by exploring potential strategies for collaborative activism for service user and survivor researchers in academia based on the concepts of social capital and situated solidarity. (Publisher abstract)
Barriers and enablers to meaningful youth participation in mental health research: qualitative interviews with youth mental health researchers
- Authors:
- FAITHFULL Sarah, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Mental Health, 28(1), 2019, pp.56-63.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- London
Background: Involving young people in co-designing and conducting youth mental health research is essential to ensure research is relevant and responsive to the needs of young people. Despite this, many barriers exist to meaningful involvement. Aims: To explore the experiences, barriers and enablers to partnering with young people for mental health research. Methods: Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with 19 researchers employed at a youth mental health research institute in Australia. Thematic analysis was used to analyse these data. Results: How researchers conceptualise youth participation was related to how confident and competent they felt engaging with young people. Attitudes and beliefs about the impact of youth participation on research quality were related to emotional factors, such as feelings of anxiety or excitement. Whether researchers engaged in youth participation was affected by resources, culture and the structures that their organisation had in place. Conclusion: Researchers generally want to engage young people in their work, but several factors can hinder this. By understanding the challenges facing researchers, and drawing on the factors that encourage and support those already engaging with young people, a framework to support genuine and meaningful youth participation in mental health research can be developed. (Edited publisher abstract)
Co-production in mental health research: reflections from the People Study
- Authors:
- PINFOLD Vanessa, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Review Journal, 20(4), 2015, pp.220-231.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: This paper reflects on the process of co-producing mental health research where work was shared between university academics, charity-based researchers and a Lived Experience Advisory Panel. Design/methodology/approach: The authors express the opinions of a research team made up of people with experience of using mental health services, being carers and being academically trained researchers from a range of health and social science disciplines. Some had experience in several areas. The paper is co-produced to provide collective reflection and recommendations. Findings: Co-production of research is not well documented in published literature. The authors believe there is scope to develop co-production approaches, but further conceptual and theoretical work is needed alongside empirical studies. A socially situated complex research project, possibly involving multi-stakeholder groups, demands flexibility in approach. Similarly to user-controlled and other emancipatory methodologies, co-production makes the democratisation of research a primary objective in order to produce better quality and more relevant studies. Co-production also addresses inequalities in power and control within research projects; this way of working does provide a healthy challenge to traditional research hierarchies. Practical implications: Lessons learned should be honestly shared to develop co-production research methods. Projects need to have a strategy for how to value different contributions and facilitate constructive relationships if discord emerges. Establishing clear project roles, expectations and process for payment are essential in developing genuine collaborative partnerships. (Edited publisher abstract)
Activity and views of service users involved in mental health research: UK survey
- Authors:
- PATTERSON Sue, TRITE Jenny, WEAVER Tim
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 205(1), 2014, pp.68-75.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Aims: This article describes activities, roles and experiences of service users involved in mental health research. Method: National cross-sectional online questionnaire survey, using snowball sampling. A final sample of 166 service users were analysed. Descriptive statistics and framework analysis undertaken collaboratively with a service user reference group. Results: The survey revealed a previously undescribed, highly qualified service user research workforce. Positioned within and alongside mainstream research, respondents reported drawing on extensive service use, and passion for service improvement to challenge perceived clinical academic dominance of research. The support of peers was crucial to involvement, which typically enhanced mental health but for some, pervasive stigma and scrutiny undermined self-confidence and practical difficulties challenged equitable participation. Conclusions: Recognition of the service user research workforce will support the constructive amalgamation of academic and experiential expertise needed to shape and realise investment in mental health research. (Edited publisher abstract)
Producing different analytical narratives, coproducing integrated analytical narrative: a qualitative study of UK detained mental health patient experience involving service user researchers
- Authors:
- GILLARD Steve, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 15(3), 2012, pp.239-254.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The active involvement of service users in the health and social care research process has become internationally widespread. The purpose of this study was to examine how knowledge produced by service user researchers might be different to that produced by conventional, university-based researchers. The study comprised a secondary analysis of qualitative interview data conducted in order to explore the lived experience of people detained under the UK Mental Health Act (2003). The interview transcripts were analysed by all members of the research team (3 mental health service users, 2 health services researchers, and 1 nursing researcher). The results were further analysed to explore the extent to which the different groups of researchers produced different interpretive narratives. The findings showed that the different groups articulated a range of situated analytical narratives on the detained patient experience. Through negotiating what each narrative meant in relation to the others, the study was able to coproduce an integrated analytical narrative that moved beyond what was already known about the detained patient experience. The article concludes that research involving mental health service user researchers can coproduce new knowledge that might usefully inform service improvement.
ResearchNet: research as recovery
- Authors:
- SPRINGHAM Neil, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health and Social Inclusion, 15(1), February 2011, pp.34-37.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
ResearchNet is a project based within the Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust that involves service users and carers in research as a means of supporting recovery. At Oxleas, current service users who have a clinical care coordinator can participate in the volunteer to work scheme, which aims to give enhanced support to help them into full or part-time employment, and offers work placements within the Trust including participation in research functions through ResearchNet. This article describes the project, which combines volunteering and network building. It includes contributions from ResearchNet members reflecting on how the project has helped them.