We are working with service users with experience of being an inpatient in an acute mental health hospital, and healthcare professionals from the setting, in a series of focus groups and workshops to adapt the "How are you?" Booklet and SNAP's person-centred process for mental health.
Background
Health care should be driven by patients’ needs. This is known as “person-centred care”. The NHS recommends it, but there is little guidance on how to provide it. We have developed a way to do this called Support Needs Approach for Patients (SNAP: https://thesnap.org.uk/). SNAP uses a tool (a booklet called the “How are you?” Booklet which has a set of questions to help patients think about areas where they need more support) and a focused conversation between the patient and healthcare professional to help address those needs. SNAP was first developed for patients with chronic lung disease and is now being used to enable person-centred conversations for patients with a range of chronic physical conditions. This project is exploring the usefulness of SNAP for those with acute mental health conditions where it has not yet been explored. To do this we are working with service users with experience of being an inpatient in an acute mental health hospital, and healthcare professionals from the setting, in a series of focus groups and workshops to adapt the ”How are you?” Booklet and SNAP’s person-centred process for mental health.
Research Questions:
- RQ1: How should the SNAP Tool be adapted for service users in acute mental health settings?
- RQ2: What is the optimal operationalisation of SNAP’s person-centred process in the acute mental health setting?
Project Aims
Aim: To adapt and optimise SNAP for service users with acute mental health conditions. Two objectives mapped to the two research questions.
- Objective 1 (O1): Adaptation of the SNAP Tool for service users in acute mental health (RQ1)
- Objective 2 (O2): Optimal operationalisation of SNAP’s person-centred process for acute mental health (RQ2)
Project Activity
To answer the two research questions and address the two objectives we are conducting an applied qualitative project involving patients and clinicians. The project's three stages are mapped to the research questions and objectives:
- Stage 1 works with service users to initially review the SNAP Tool and SNAP for acute mental health settings through focus groups (RQ1-2/O1-O2)
- Stage 2 works with service users to adapt the SNAP Tool and begin to operationalise SNAP for acute mental health through a service user workshop and interviews (RQ1-2/O1-O2)
- Stage 3 works with clinicians to optimise operationalisation of SNAP for acute mental health through a clinician workshop (RQ2/O2)
Anticipated outputs
- Once validated, the adapted SNAP Tool will be made available (under licence) via the SNAP website (free of charge to not-for-profit organisations)
- Any guidance developed on the delivery of SNAP within acute mental health will be made available via the SNAP website
- A brief report will be prepared for participants (who would like one), for Cambridge & Peterborough Foundation Trust (CPFT) and for the funder (NIHR ARC EoE), co-produced with service users
- A webinar will be held, supported by NIHR ARC EoE (this will follow additional validation work)
- An academic paper for publication will be co-produced with service users (this will follow additional validation work)
- Following the advice of the project's PPI Group and Project Advisory Group, a plan for follow-on validation work will be developed for the adapted SNAP Tool to ensure acceptability to service users, to confirm breadth of coverage, and to enhance clinician confidence in the tool
- There is potential for a follow-on funding application to formally test SNAP in acute mental health across multiple sites
Who is involved?
- Prof Morag Farquhar (PI & corresponding researcher), University of East Anglia
- Dr Carole Gardener (Project SRA), University of East Anglia
- Dawn Stewart, Cambridge & Peterborough Foundation Trust
Papers/resources
Contact us
Prof. Morag Farquhar, University of East Anglia
