Why the research is needed?
Healthcare and other public care staff are considered to be at risk of developing poor mental health due to the challenging nature of their job. High levels of stress and other mental health problems in these groups have been linked with poor outcomes for the person themselves and the wider organisation they work in, as well as the quality of care provided. Recognising this problem, we have developed a programme of work around the mental health and wellbeing of National Healthcare Service (NHS) and other public service staff.
What is already known about the subject?
The ongoing ARC East Midlands-funded ‘Well at Work’ study forms part of this programme of work. This study is comparing two psychological interventions delivered online, i.e. a Mindfulness-Based cognitive therapy programme vs. a Stress-Reduction programme, in terms of how they impact on perceived stress and other mental health and job-related outcomes in public care staff. While this study has been advertising across multiple NHS Trusts and we have met our recruitment target of 260 participants, only one participant was recruited from a forensic setting. We therefore do not have information about the wellbeing challenges experienced by forensic staff and what drivers or barriers they might be facing in seeking or accessing psychological wellbeing support at work. Finding out more about these issues becomes even more imperative when considering that previous research has shown that forensic staff are at increased risk of experiencing poor wellbeing at work.
Who we are working with?
We have started consulting with a Stakeholders Group of forensic staff representatives who work in different forensic mental health inpatient and community services and secure prison healthcare units through the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust about the proposed study design and recruitment procedures; and we will continue to work with this group throughout all the phases of the study, including dissemination of findings.
What will we do?
We will ask around 350 staff who work in forensic mental health and offender health settings to complete an online survey, which will allow us to gather information about their demographics, mental health and occupation-related characteristics. We will interview about 30 staff from this sample about their perceived psychological wellbeing needs and what might be hindering or facilitate their uptake of wellbeing support offered through work so that they can best be supported. In addition to interviews, we will conduct 3 small focus groups to delve further into themes that emerged from the interviews in a discursive context.
What the benefits will be?
There will be indirect benefits to both the organisations that provide wellbeing support and the forensic staff themselves, through improvement of future service delivery informed by our findings.
When will the findings be available?
The study findings are expected to be available by March 2026.
How we are planning for implementation?
Our plans for how outputs from this study will be shared with practice, will be shaped through ongoing dialogue with our stakeholder communities.
Contact
Dr Elena Nixon, University of Nottingham, elena.nixon@nottingham.ac.uk.