Delusions and qualitative confusions: a dialogic collaborative exploration

Actualizing community-academic partnerships in research: a case study on rural perinatal peer support

BACKGROUND

 Within the field of patient and public involvement in health service research, there is a growing movement towards not only involving patients in research but engaging them as co-producers of knowledge. We explore such a co-productive research relationship in a case study on rural perinatal mental health, with the aim of collaboratively developing knowledge based on both the relevant lived experience of a community partner, and the systemic knowledge of academic researchers.

METHODS

 Data was gathered through a community forum and subsequent interviews with social service program administrators from rural British Columbia, Canada. Interviews were analyzed separately by the community partner and academic researchers using principles of thematic analysis. Both the community partner and academic researchers were involved from project genesis to data collection, analysis, interpretation, and manuscript writing.

RESULTS

Common themes identified by the academic and community researchers included needs for peer support, barriers to peer support, and gaps in mental health care. Divergently, the academic researcher focused on systems-level challenges while the community partner emphasized the impact of power dynamics within health systems. Researchers generated five methodological values propositions from the process of co-production, including (a) mutual respect for all viewpoints, (b) a rejection of assumed hierarchy, (c) commitments to truth speaking, (d) attention to process, and (e) equivalence of contribution.

CONCLUSIONS

Co-production highlights the value of lived experience in health research, sets it in conversation with scientific inquiry, and moves away from hierarchies of assumed knowledge often embedded in traditional health care research. Incorporating both academic researcher and community partner writing into our paper reflects a commitment to maintaining the integrity and authenticity of lived experience, an affirmation of its equal validity as a source of knowledge, and a rejection of qualifying patient voices. The exploration of this co-production research relationship lays groundwork for future research teams considering collaborative methodology. We suggest co-productive research as a means of addressing the epistemic injustice that arises in health care research from the privileging of certain forms of knowledge, and the exclusion of others, namely that derived from patient experience.

Doing time in an Australian ICU; the experience and environment from the perspective of patients and family members

BACKGROUND

The intensive care environment and experiences during admission can negatively impact patient and family outcomes and can complicate recovery both in hospital and after discharge. While their perspectives based on intimate experiences of the environment could help inform design improvements, patients and their families are typically not involved in design processes. Rather than designing the environment around the needs of the patients, emphasis has traditionally been placed on clinical and economic efficiencies.

OBJECTIVE

The main objective was to inform design of an optimised intensive care bedspace by developing an understanding of how patients and their families experience the intensive care environment and its impact on recovery.

METHODS

A qualitative descriptive study was conducted with data collected in interviews with 17 intensive care patients and seven family members at a large cardiothoracic specialist hospital, analysed using a framework approach.

RESULTS

Participants described the intensive care as a noisy, bright, confronting and scary environment that prevented sleep and was suboptimal for recovery. Bedspaces were described as small and cluttered, with limited access to natural light or cognitive stimulation. The limited ability to personalise the environment and maintain connections with family and the outside world was considered especially problematic.

CONCLUSIONS

Intensive care patients described features of the current environment they considered problematic and potentially hindering their recovery. The perspective of patients and their families can be utilised by researchers and developers to improve the design and function of the intensive care environment. This can potentially improve patient outcomes and help deliver more personalised and effective care to this vulnerable patient population and their families.

The intensive care unit environment from the perspective of medical, allied health and nursing clinicians: A qualitative study to inform design of the 'ideal' bedspace

BACKGROUND

While the impact of the intensive care environment on patients' experiences and outcomes has been extensively studied, relatively little research has examined the impact on clinicians and their provision of care in the intensive care unit (ICU). Understanding staff experience and views about the environment is needed to optimise the ICU environment, patient outcomes and staff wellbeing.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to inform design of an optimised intensive care bedspace by describing clinicians' views about the current environment, including experience, impact on performance of clinical duties, and experience and outcomes of patients and family members.

METHODS

A pragmatic, qualitative descriptive study was conducted, with data collected in focus groups and interviews with 30 intensive care clinicians at a large cardiothoracic specialist hospital and analysed using the framework approach.

RESULTS

Participants acknowledged that the busy and noisy ICU provided a suboptimal healing environment for patients, was confronting for visiting families and exposed clinicians to risk of psychological injury. The bedspace, described as small and cluttered, hindered provision of clinical care of various kinds and contributed to an increased risk of staff physical injuries. Participants noted that the bland, sterile environment, devoid of natural light and views of the outside world, negatively affected both staff and patients' mood and motivation. Aware of the potential benefits of natural light, cognitive stimulation and visually appealing environments for patients and families, clinicians were frustrated by their inability to personalise the bedspace. Some participants, while acknowledging the importance of family contact for patients, were concerned about the impact of visitors on care delivery, particularly within already crowded bedspaces, suggesting restrictions on visiting.

CONCLUSIONS

Intensive care clinicians perceive that the current intensive care environment is suboptimal for patients, their families and staff and may contribute to suboptimal patient outcomes. The intensive care bedspaces need to be redesigned to ensure they are built around the needs of the people using them. Optimisation is dependent on engaging all stakeholders in future design processes.

Habits and Routines during Transitions among Emerging Adults with Type 1 Diabetes

To provide insight into poorly understood diabetes self-management among emerging adults with type 1 diabetes (TID) experiencing transitions, this study described their diabetes self-management-related habits, routines, and disruptions as well as explored relationships among habits and routines. A qualitative study, guided by critical incidence technique, was conducted. Participants were asked to describe situations when they did and did not check blood glucose, administer insulin, eat meals, and exercise as planned. They were also asked to describe activities in a typical day and in association with diabetes self-management. Content analysis with a priori definitions of habits and routines was performed. Participants described diabetes self-management-related transitional disruption as forgetting and disorder. They described habits associated with checking a blood glucose, giving an insulin dose, eating a meal, and initiating exercise. They described routines in association with meals, exercise, and overall diabetes management. These findings provide information on variables to target in intervention research.

Bringing together coproduction and community participatory research approaches: Using first person reflective narrative to explore coproduction and community involvement in mental health research

Background

A growing literature explores the coproduction of research knowledge. Barriers to coproduction in mental health research have been identified, especially for the people from marginalized communities. There is an established body of participatory research that has potential to inform coproduction in mental health research.

Objectives

To explore and articulate how learning from community participatory approaches to research enable barriers to knowledge coproduction to be overcome in mental health research.

Setting

An evaluation of a primary care mental health service, led by an experienced survivor researcher, supported by a health service researcher and involving a team of community co‐researchers.

Design

Cycles of reflective writing (first‐person narrative) by the authors, and feedback from the co‐researcher team, on their experiences of undertaking the evaluation were used to explore the ways in which community actors, including those from marginalized communities, might be meaningfully involved in producing research knowledge about mental health services.

Results

A space was created where community co‐researchers, including those from traditionally marginalized communities, felt safe and empowered to move beyond essentialized “service user” identities and bring a range of skills and expertise to the evaluation. There was meaningful rebalancing of power between traditional university and community roles, although the issues around leadership remained complex and more could be done to explore how our different experiences of race and mental health shape the research we do.

Conclusions

Potential was demonstrated for participatory research approaches to inform coproduction of knowledge in mental health research that fully reflects the diversity of identity and experience.

A qualitative study of patients' knowledge and views of about oral health and acceptability of related intervention in an Australian inpatient alcohol and drug treatment facility

Social factors, health behaviours and the direct effects of substances contribute to the poor oral health and restricted access to dental services experienced by people who are dependent on drugs and/or alcohol. Admission for inpatient withdrawal management provides an opportunity for intervention to promote oral health but to be effective it must be acceptable to patients. To support intervention design, we examined patients' views about oral health, practices and treatment access, and appropriateness of health-promoting intervention in this context. Given paucity of knowledge in the area we employed a qualitative approach, data were collected in semi-structured interviews with inpatients of a public specialist alcohol and drug unit in Australia in September 2014. Analysis employed the framework approach. All 14 participants wanted 'good teeth' but few diligently attended to oral healthcare; most sought assistance only in emergencies. Participants' knowledge of services was limited and practical and affective barriers hindered access. With none recalling attention to oral health during admission, support was strong for incorporation of oral health in inpatient assessments. Participants wanted information about the impact of substances on oral health and oral hygiene practices provided in various formats, and facilitated referral to non-judgemental, affordable treatment. Patients regarded promotion of oral health in the inpatient context as important, relevant and acceptable. Support should respect the different knowledge, practices and motivations for oral health and recovery, of patients. Addressing practical and affective barriers to dental services will require collaboration between drug and alcohol and dental services, and this should be the focus of further research.

Implementation and impact of an extended-hours service in mental health care: lessons learned

OBJECTIVE

To describe the activity and impact of an extended-hours mental health service established to meet perceived need and improve service efficiency. Lessons developed in evaluation could usefully inform development of services in similar settings.

SETTING

A specialist mental health service providing assessment and treatment to 330 000 catchment residents of an Australian capital city.

METHODS

Pragmatic mixed-methods evaluation, combining review of 12 months service data and interviews with 65 stakeholders; with integration of descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of qualitative data.

RESULTS

Over 12 months, 2040 individuals were provided with a range of services during extended-hours, indicating that some sort of service was needed. However, evaluation demonstrated that flaws in assumptions underpinning the extended-hours service design, particularly regarding the population seeking after-hours care, necessitated adaptation of the proposed model. Ambiguity in purpose contributed to perceived lack of a cohesive identity, compounded by critical differences in the philosophies of care teams from which the extended-hours service clinicians were drawn. Nonetheless the service was considered effective by many stakeholders and co-location of different teams built collegiality within the service.

CONCLUSIONS

A comprehensive needs analysis, enabling full description of target populations and their needs, should underpin establishment of any service. Such understanding is needed to ensure resources are appropriate. Importantly, because mental health clinicians are not interchangeable, matching philosophy of care and clinical skills to identified need is critical to quality and efficiency.

Understanding recovery in the context of lived experience of personality disorders: a collaborative, qualitative research study

BACKGROUND

Concepts of recovery increasingly inform the development and delivery of mental health services internationally. In the UK recent policy advocates the application of recovery concepts to the treatment of personality disorders. However diagnosis and understanding of personality disorders remains contested, challenging any assumption that mainstream recovery thinking can be directly translated into personality disorders services.

METHODS

In a qualitative interview-based study understandings of recovery were explored in extended, in-depth interviews with six people purposively sampled from a specialist personality disorders' service in the UK. An interpretive, collaborative approach to research was adopted in which university-, clinical- and service user (consumer) researchers were jointly involved in carrying out interviews and analysing interview data.

RESULTS

Findings suggested that recovery cannot be conceptualised separately from an understanding of the lived experience of personality disorders. This experience was characterised by a complexity of ambiguous, interrelating and conflicting feelings, thoughts and actions as individuals tried to cope with tensions between internally and externally experienced worlds. Our analysis was suggestive of a process of recovering or, for some, discovering a sense of self that can safely coexist in both worlds.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that key facilitators of recovery - positive personal relationships and wider social interaction - are also where the core vulnerabilities of individuals with lived experience of personaility disorders can lie. There is a role for personality disorders services in providing a safe space in which to develop positive relationships. Through discursive practice within the research team understandings of recovery were co-produced that responded to the lived experience of personality disorders and were of applied relevance to practitioners.

Activity and views of service users involved in mental health research: UK survey

BACKGROUND

Optimisation of the process and outcomes of service user involvement in research is dependent on understanding current practice, challenges and opportunities.

AIMS

To describe activities, roles and experiences of service users involved in mental health research.

METHOD

National cross-sectional online questionnaire survey, using snowball sampling. 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.

Research ethics in accessing hospital staff and securing informed consent

Qualitative researchers cannot rely on research ethics to be a static practice. In this article we discuss how observation of guidelines for inquiry and international agreements on the dignity of health care research are not sufficient on their own to ensure that the challenges inherent in the everyday management of a project are regulated. We focus in particular on ethics in accessing participants and the construction of informed consent. During our study, important contrasts emerged between the ideal presented for the standard ethics review process and practical ethics. As a result, we focused on building open communication with the participants through rigorous project management. We analyzed the data and wrote this article collaboratively to represent the empirical reality of a team of researchers aiming to take ethical challenges seriously while collecting data in three National Health Service Trusts in the United Kingdom.

Patient and public involvement in the coproduction of knowledge: reflection on the analysis of qualitative data in a mental health study

Patient and public involvement in health research is increasingly well established internationally, but the impacts of involvement on the research process are hard to evaluate. We describe a process of qualitative data analysis in a mental health research project with a high level of mental health service user and carer involvement, and reflect critically on how we produced our findings. Team members not from research backgrounds sometimes challenged academic conventions, leading to complex findings that would otherwise have been missing. An essential component of how we coproduced knowledge involved retaining methodological flexibility so that nonconventional research voices in the team could situate and critique what was conventionally known. Deliberate and transparent reflection on how "who we are" informed the knowledge we produced was integral to our inquiry. We conclude that reflecting on knowledge (co)production is a useful tool for evaluating the impact of patient and public involvement on health research.

Toward caring for oneself in a life of intense ups and downs: a reflexive-collaborative exploration of recovery in bipolar disorder

In this article, we discuss processes of recovery in bipolar disorder. We utilized a hermeneutical-phenomenological approach developed within a reflexive-collaborative framework to examine what individuals do to promote improvement and positive change in their own lives. The study was designed and carried out in collaboration with an expert-by-experience group of 12 coresearchers with firsthand experiences of mental distress and recovery. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 participants who acknowledged having lived and dealt with a bipolar disorder. Four core themes were drawn from our analysis: (a) handling ambivalence about letting go of manic states; (b) finding something to hang on to when the world is spinning around; (c) becoming aware of signals from self and others; and (d) finding ways of caring for oneself. Interrelationships between the four themes, along with limitations, strengths, and implications of the study are discussed.

Health care and social service providers' observations on the intersection of HIV/AIDS and violence among their clients and patients

Associations between HIV/AIDS and several forms of violence have been demonstrated in recent research. We conducted qualitative interviews with 30 providers who offered services related to HIV/AIDS or violence to identify specific manifestations of HIV/AIDS-violence intersections, factors that explain why HIV/AIDS and violence intersect in client/patient populations, and the theoretical salience of providers' narratives. Providers confirmed links between HIV/AIDS and violent victimization, and yielded new insights into crossover risk between HIV/AIDS and suicidality, nonsuicidal self-harm, and witnessing and perpetrating violence. We also isolated 20 explanatory factors, including substance use, poor mental health, sex work/trading sex, and sexual orientation/gender identity. Narratives were consistent with syndemics theory, indicating that HIV/AIDS and violence fueled each other's occurrence and magnified the health-related burden on affected client/patient populations, often under conditions of health and social disparity. Providers contribute a novel perspective on our understanding of HIV/AIDS-violence syndemics that shows promise in informing future interventions and practice.

Expanding the notion of researcher distress: the cumulative effects of coding

Qualitative researchers who explore the individual's experience of health, illness, death, and dying often experience emotional stress in their work. In this article, we describe the emotional stress we experienced while coding semistructured, after-death interviews conducted with 38 next of kin of deceased veterans. Coding sensitive topic data required an unexpected level of emotional labor, the impact of which has not been addressed in the literature. In writing this discussion article, we stepped back from our roles as interviewers/coders and reflected on how our work affected us individually and as a team, and how a sequence of exposures could exert a cumulative effect for researchers in such a dual role. Through this article, we hope to generate an expanded discourse on how qualitative inquiry impacts the emotional well-being of researchers.