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A Qualitative Study of an Employment Scheme for Mentors with Lived Experience of Offending Within a Multi-Agency Mental Health Project for Excluded Young People.

ABSTRACT: The use of peer intervention schemes is increasingly popular within services for offending groups and there is growing evidence of their benefit for peers delivering the interventions. The current study explores staff and peer experiences of an employment scheme for peer mentors within a community project for young people involved in offending. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with full time staff (n=4) and peer mentors employed on the scheme (n=2). Thematic analysis revealed three themes of "Opportunity and Empowerment", "Supportive Processes" and "Role Definition and Structure". The results suggest that meaningful employment opportunities, with holistic support and processes for reflection and mentalisation of self and others, contribute to the personal and professional development of ex-offenders in peer mentoring roles.

SUBMITTER: Hodgson E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6323077 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A Qualitative Study of an Employment Scheme for Mentors with Lived Experience of Offending Within a Multi-Agency Mental Health Project for Excluded Young People.

Hodgson Eleanor E Stuart Jenny Ruth JR Train Charlotte C Foster Michael M Lloyd Leon L

The journal of behavioral health services & research 20190101 1

The use of peer intervention schemes is increasingly popular within services for offending groups and there is growing evidence of their benefit for peers delivering the interventions. The current study explores staff and peer experiences of an employment scheme for peer mentors within a community project for young people involved in offending. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with full time staff (n=4) and peer mentors employed on the scheme (n=2). Thematic analysis revealed three them ...[more]

PMID: 29855946

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Project description:BackgroundUnemployment is known to involve various psychosocial challenges that can negatively impact mental health. However, the intricacies of how individuals experience these challenges and strive to cope within the context of varied sociocultural and individuating factors, remain comparatively understudied. The present qualitative study used an interpretative phenomenological approach to explore the lived experiences of mental health and coping during unemployment.MethodsFifteen Australian adults who had recently experienced unemployment (for ≥3 months in the last 2 years), despite being available for and able to work, participated in semi-structured interviews from August to September 2021. Maximum variation sampling ensured participants represented diverse sociodemographic backgrounds. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis within NVivo12 software.ResultsFour major themes were identified: 1) disrupted identity and direction in life; 2) navigating conflicting views of contribution and progress; 3) knowing how to cope is not enough; and 4) unemployment as a catalyst for new understandings. Unemployment disrupted participants' sense of purpose, identity and visions for the future. It signified a perceived failure to meet societal standards of value based upon the economic functions of work, which participants struggled to reconcile with their own priorities for work that satisfied psychosocial needs. Participants were aware of effective coping strategies, although these had mixed positive and negative effects on mental health, or were difficult to mobilise during unemployment. The COVID-19 pandemic, while normalising unemployment to some degree, exacerbated future uncertainty and prevented engagement with known coping strategies (e.g., social interaction). However, unemployment could also instigate growth through re-defining markers of achievement, re-aligning goals with one's core values, and developing greater compassion.ConclusionsExperiences of mental health and coping during unemployment share complex relationships both with each other and with broader personal and sociocultural contexts. Service providers may better meet the mental health needs of those experiencing unemployment by balancing the economic and psychosocial functions of work, understanding that coping is a wholistic issue that goes beyond knowledge of effective strategies, and being aware of the opportunities for self-development that unemployment can create.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Peer support is recognized globally as an essential recovery service for people with mental health conditions. With the influx of digital mental health services changing the way mental health care is delivered, peer supporters are increasingly using technology to deliver peer support. In light of these technological advances, there is a need to review and synthesize the emergent evidence for peer-supported digital health interventions for adults with mental health conditions. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to identify and review the evidence of digital peer support interventions for people with a lived experience of a serious mental illness. METHODS:This systematic review was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) procedures. The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Central, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases were searched for peer-reviewed articles published between 1946 and December 2018 that examined digital peer support interventions for people with a lived experience of a serious mental illness. Additional articles were found by searching the reference lists from the 27 articles that met the inclusion criteria and a Google Scholar search in June 2019. Participants, interventions, comparisons, outcomes, and study design (PICOS) criteria were used to assess study eligibility. Two authors independently screened titles and abstracts, and reviewed all full-text articles meeting the inclusion criteria. Discrepancies were discussed and resolved. All included studies were assessed for methodological quality using the Methodological Quality Rating Scale. RESULTS:A total of 30 studies (11 randomized controlled trials, 2 quasiexperimental, 15 pre-post designs, and 2 qualitative studies) were included that reported on 24 interventions. Most of the studies demonstrated feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of peer-to-peer networks, peer-delivered interventions supported with technology, and use of asynchronous and synchronous technologies. CONCLUSIONS:Digital peer support interventions appear to be feasible and acceptable, with strong potential for clinical effectiveness. However, the field is in the early stages of development and requires well-powered efficacy and clinical effectiveness trials. TRIAL REGISTRATION:PROSPERO CRD42020139037; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID= 139037.

Project description:BackgroundLittle research attention has been given to understanding the lived experience of parents who access mental health services in the context of child anxiety disorders. This paper reports on findings specific to parents' lived experience of accessing services for their child living with anxiety and the recommendations they provided for improving access.MethodsWe used the qualitative research approach of hermeneutic phenomenology. The sample included 54 Canadian parents of youth living with an anxiety disorder. Parents took part in one semi-structured and one open-ended interview. We used a 4 staged data analysis process informed by van Manen's approach and Levesque and colleagues' framework of access to healthcare.ResultsThe majority of parents reported being female (85%), white (74%), and single parents (39%). Parents' ability to seek and obtain services was affected by not knowing when or where to access services, having to learn to navigate the system, limited availability of services, lack of timely services and interim supports, limited financial resources, and clinicians' dismissal of parental concerns and knowledge. Provider (ability to listen), parent (willingness to participate in therapy), child (same race/ethnicity as provider), and service characteristics (cultural sensitivity) influenced whether parents perceived services as approachable, acceptable, and appropriate. Parents' recommendations focused on: (1) improving the availability, timeliness, and coordination of services, (2) providing supports for parents and the child to facilitate obtaining care (education, interim supports), (3) improving communication with and among healthcare professionals, (4) the need to recognize parents' experience-based knowledge, and (5) encouraging parents to take care of themselves and advocate for their child.ConclusionsOur findings point to possible avenues (parents' ability, service characteristics) that can be targeted to improve service access. As experts on their situation, parents' recommendations highlight priority needs of relevance to health care professionals and policymakers.

Project description:BackgroundCurrently, within Australia, 3.6% of all emergency department (ED) presentations are mental health-related. Information about the context of the person presenting to the ED (beyond immediate needs), including their psychosocial disability (PSD) National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan, is reported as incomplete and fragmented. There are missed opportunities for early support and care continuity that could potentially inform ED practitioners to revise current practices.ObjectiveThe aims of this study are: (1) to obtain original data from the lived experience voice of those with the PSD NDIS plan and their experience when presenting to an ED, (2) to gather information from NDIS service providers to reveal communication pathways between the ED and NDIS services, and (3) to gain knowledge from ED clinicians around processes for improving continuity of care and consumer experience.MethodsThis inductive, mixed methods phenomenological study will involve data collection analyzed sequentially, with each stage informing future stages of the research. Interviews will focus on the lived experience voice exploring concerns that have led to an ED presentation, alongside an analysis of associated clinical and administrative documentation and communications. Focus groups with NDIS support workers and support coordinators will provide phenomenological data around the experience from their perspective. National quantitative surveys among those with a PSD NDIS plan and emergency services clinicians will provide insight into current practices within community care and ED presentations. The research project design includes a lived experience advisory group who are assisting with the design of the interview and focus group schedules and national surveys, as well as in shaping the interpretation of qualitative information. All transcripts will be subject to thematic analysis to understand individuals' meaning-making of these complex and particular phenomena. The research team includes a lived experience researcher and a lived experience carer (PhD candidate).ResultsThis study is funded by MIND Australia as a PhD industry scholarship, which commenced in April 2020. A systematic review as a preresearch activity has been completed and is currently under review. The Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of South Australia has approved this project. An advisory group has been selected, and interview, focus group, and survey schedules are currently being codesigned. Recruitment will commence in November 2021. It is envisaged that data collection will be completed by June 2022.ConclusionsUnderstanding the lived experience of the precare, during care, and postcare stages of ED presentations from the perspective of those with a PSD NDIS plan will inform the research team around current practices and provide information about improvement for pathways of care for consumers and carers, while also informing health policy.International registered report identifier (irrid)PRR1-10.2196/33268.

Dataset Information

A Qualitative Study of an Employment Scheme for Mentors with Lived Experience of Offending Within a Multi-Agency Mental Health Project for Excluded Young People.

Publications

A Qualitative Study of an Employment Scheme for Mentors with Lived Experience of Offending Within a Multi-Agency Mental Health Project for Excluded Young People.

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