Title: Cross-national comparative study of recovery-focused mental health care planning in acute inpatient mental health settings (COCAPP-A)
Funder: Department of Health (England)

Abstract: Background: Serious concerns have been identified in relation to care planning patient involvement and consent to treatment in mental health wards including for those patients detained under the Mental Health Act. Further evidence is needed to develop care planning interventions that embed dignity recovery and participation for all people using inpatient mental health care.Design: We propose to undertake a cross-national comparative study of recovery-focused mental health care planning in inpatient settings. This two-phase exploratory mixed methods study will produce theory and empirical evidence to complement that developed in our current study of community mental health services to inform a future whole systems intervention study. The study is guided by a theoretical framework emphasising the connections between different ‘levels’ of organisation (macro/meso/micro). In phase 1 we study the macro-level through the comparative analysis of English and Welsh policy contexts. In phase 2 concurrent quantitative and qualitative data will be collected at 6 NHS Trust/Health Board case study sites (meso-level) and within each site a single micro-level mental health ward will be selected to provide in-depth qualitative data related to care planning processes. Phase 1: We will extend our current meta-narrative mapping review (Wong et al 2013) of English and Welsh policies and the international literature on personalised recovery-oriented care planning and coordination in community settings to include inpatient settings. We will provide a review of evidence that is useful rigorous and relevant for service providers and decision-makers and to inform Phase 2.Phase 2: We are employing a concurrent transformative mixed methods approach with embedded case studies (Creswell 2009: 215). We will conduct six in-depth meso-level case study investigations across contrasting NHS Trusts in England (n=4) and Local Health Boards in Wales (n=2) selected to reflect variety in geography and population and include a mix of rural urban and inner city settings providing routine inpatient care. A large sample of service users (total n=300) inpatient staff (n=300) and informal carers (n=150) will be surveyed about perceptions of acute mental health care and care planning recovery oriented practices therapeutic relationships and empowerment using validated questionnaires. Documents and interviews with managers consultant psychiatrists ward staff and informal carers (n=60) will also be generated relating to local contexts policies and practices. In each site we will also select a single inpatient ward and conduct a series of case studies embedded within each organisational case study to explore care planning in detail. We will invite a sample of service users (total n=36) to participate in in-depth interviews about care planning and structured narrative reviews of their care plans; undertake a structured review of anonymised care plans for a further sample (n=60) of consecutively discharged patients; and conduct observation of care planning processes (n= 18). Framework method will be employed to integrate and compare textual and statistical summaries of qualitative and quantitative analyses within each case study site informed by the theoretical framework focused on recovery and personalisation. Armed with our set of six within-case analyses we will then conduct a cross-case analysis to draw out key findings from across all sites.


Research activity codes: 8.1 ORGANISATION AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES;8.3 POLICY, ETHICS AND RESEARCH GOVERNANCE
Health categories: MENTAL HEALTH