Research and development
Feature
A journey of discovery
Dr Karen Morris and Rhona MacLeod share their experiences of collaborative research development .
O ccupational therapy theory – and therefore occupational therapists – espouse the need to be person centred in our work ( RCOT 2022 ) and to collaborate with people that use services to develop goals . But this is not easy when working within service boundaries and cultures .
In late 2020 , we decided to develop a practice-based collaborative research project using a Participatory Action Research ( PAR ) philosophy ( Fagan et al 2016 ; Stuart et al 2015 ). COVID-19 restrictions meat that we had to work entirely online .
We spoke with a service user ‘ Confirm and Challenge ’ group to gather their research ideas and present them with research question options for feedback . These ideas were useful , but the format of the group and time between our sessions meant that that we could not sustain momentum for our project .
Additionally , while this was consultation it was not collaboration , so we decided to change our approach . We felt that , for genuine collaboration , we needed to equip our potential collaborators with the skills to participate fully in the research process .
Recovery College course
Between January 2022 and April 2022 , we gained two small pots of funding that enabled us to facilitate a Recovery College course over six weeks about basic research methods . This was offered to patients living on five units of North East and North Cumbria ( NENC ) secure services provision ; 25 people took part .
Patients were paid to take part in the sessions to value their contributions . COVID-19 restrictions had eased , so we could visit the units for most sessions , but units were not allowed to mix , so separate sessions were run in each area . Sessions were shorter than we wanted , but were more focused on the particular needs of each small group .
Using a service evaluation of a patient information leaflet as a practical focus , topics included : Introduction to research ; How research makes people feel ; Different ways of doing research ; Creating research together .
We were impressed how participants , including those with learning difficulties , were able to work with complex research concepts , for example consent and confidentiality . Patients designed the evaluation with us and completed it themselves on their unit . We worked on the findings together and these were reported back to their unit and service managers for consideration next time the leaflet was reviewed .
Collaborative proposal design progress
At the end of the Recovery College course , we were successful in gaining further funding from Research England ( REng ). The aim of this project was to use these new research skills to collaboratively design a research proposal .
The funding supported our resources , including compensating our patient researchers for their time . COVID-19 restrictions were still in place , so the opportunity to take part in the REng project was offered to the unit with most participants . This enabled us to have longer , more detailed discussions than if we had been working across units .
Three patients decided that they wanted to take part and became members of the project team . We were also joined by the unit occupational
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