Practitioner perspectives on the parent-infant assessment: A Q methodological investigation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
What aspects of the parent-infant relationship should be assessed and how? Beliefs of perinatal mental health staff. A Q methodological investigation.
IRAS ID
317399
Contact name
Anja Wittkowski
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 30 days
Research summary
This research project, funded by The University of Manchester, in order to have a better understanding of the beliefs mental health workers hold about which aspects of the parent-infant relationship should be assessed and how they do this. This project is important because we do not yet have a complete understanding of staff beliefs towards mental health assessments within perinatal mental health (PMH) services. Findings will be shared with health care professionals and researchers to help people’s understanding and to inform the delivery of services. We are proposing to use Q methodology to explore the research question (Stephenson, 1953) as it is a means of investigating the subjective perspectives of practitioners(Watts & Stenner, 2005).
The study will recruit eligible staff members from specialist perinatal services and taking part in the study will involve a one-to-one interview with the researcher, to rank a list of belief statements according to how much they agree or disagree with what is said. Participants will also be asked to complete a demographic questionnaire about themselves. The interview, consent and completion of the demographic questionnaire is likely to take up to 40 minutes to complete. The interview can take place in person (e.g. at the participants' place of work/at University premises) or via Zoom and can be arranged at a date and time that is convenient for the participant.
We will also aim to briefly speak with four participants after this to find out about their thoughts regarding the belief statements. This will take the form of a semi-structured interview, and will involve being asked a number of open-ended questions allowing participants to share their thoughts. It is possible that not everyone who agrees to this option will be interviewed. All the information provided will be anonymised and kept confidential.
REC name
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REC reference
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