Background
Background to the project
Within Derbyshire Mental Health Services NHS Trust, during 2008, we held a monthly research network meeting where we discussed a current or a proposed research project and a research paper. These meetings benefited from strong support by representatives from Derbyshire Voice, a charity that promotes and supports the views of mental health service receivers. As a result of these meetings, the group decided to develop a research project based on an idea generated by the representatives from Derbyshire Voice.
The initial idea was to explore why people do not take their medication as prescribed, however, a literature search soon revealed that this area had been extensively researched. As a result of this, the group decided instead to explore people’s experiences of stopping or changing medication, what actions they took, what they found helpful or unhelpful and how much control or choice they felt they had in the process.
Summary of the project
The study we have developed together seeks to investigate the experiences of mental health service users when they either seek to change or to terminate their use of mental health related medications.
Four small focus groups will be run, two for those who have changed medication, and two for those who have stopped medication, split across the county of Derbyshire. Whilst Derbyshire Voice will be used as a vehicle for publicising the study and initiating recruitment, the sample may include any mental health service users from the county (although we will not be using young people under the age of 18).
The analysis of the transcripts from the focus groups will be completed by the research team of two clinicians and two service users (who are receiving some initial training in methods of content analysis). The results will be used to inform practice within the Trust, focussing on how best to empower service users to discuss and negotiate their own medication use. The results will also be published in local newsletters, Trust publications and in peer reviewed journals. We would also seek to collaboratively present at local and national conferences.
If the results of this study merit further investigation the research team would consider a larger study to further develop any themes that emerge, cover younger age groups, and look at further developing new practices which help to enable mental health service users to better discuss choices and options in their own treatment.