Service User Involvment in Services

Established: June 2008

Convenor (Chair): Dr Mike Crawford, Reader in Mental Health Services Research, Department of Psychological Medicine, Imperial College London (contact details: m.crawford@imperial.ac.uk)

Membership
This CRG combines the expertise of service users and providers, together with those with expertise in epidemiology, organisational evaluation, and evaluating complex interventions. While the majority of our members hold senior academic posts at British universities we would like to include representatives of two national voluntary sector organisations (Mental Health Foundation and Rethink), and two freelance service user researchers, as we believe it is essential that we incorporate expertise in user involvement in research and service development that is found outside universities.

We comprise a multi-disciplinary group of researchers and service user researchers with backgrounds in psychology, social science, social work, mental health nursing and clinical psychiatry. Members are based in 7 academic institutions spread throughout Britain.

1. Dr Rosemary Barber. Honorary Senior Research Fellow. Section of Public Health, University of Sheffield.
2. Professor Marian Barnes. Professor of Social Policy and Director of the Health and Social Policy Research Centre, University of Brighton.
3. Dr Mike Crawford (Convenor), Reader in Mental Health Services Research, Department of Psychological Medicine, Imperial College London.
4. David Crepaz-Keay, Independent service user researcher, and Head of Patient and Public Involvement, Mental Health Foundation
5. Professor Ann Davis. Director of the Centre of Excellence in Interdisciplinary Mental Health, University of Birmingham
6. Dr Kam Dhillon. Head of Research, Mental Health Foundation
7. Alison Faulkner. Independent service user researcher.
8. Vanessa Pinfold, Director of Research, Rethink.
9. Professor Shulamit Ramon. Professor of Interprofessional Health and Social Studies, Anglia Ruskin University.
10. Dr Diana Rose, Senior Lecturer in User-Led Research. Health Services and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London.
11. Dr Mike Slade. Reader in Health Services Research, Health Services and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London.
12. Professor Graham Thornicroft. Professor of Community Psychiatry. Health Services and Population Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London.
13. Dr Steve Tilley. Senior Lecturer in Nursing Studies, University of Edinburgh.
14. Dr Tim Weaver. Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Services Research, Department of Psychological Medicine, Imperial College London.

Remit and Aims
We propose a CRG to examine service user involvement in the organisation and delivery of mental health services. Previous research in this field has described methods for involving service users and highlighted factors that stakeholders believe constitutes good practice. However few studies have examined outcomes of user involvement or the process through which positive outcomes are achieved.

A systematic review of user involvement in mental health services by Simpson and House (2002) concluded that ‘little evidence exists on the effectiveness of such programmes and more formal evaluations are needed’. We will aim to help correct this deficit by developing new research proposals that will;
Compare the process and outcomes of different methods of involving service users in implementing changes to services,
Examine methods for involving users in delivering mental health services, and
Evaluate new approaches for involving service users in research and training.

We will specifically aim to generate proposals for large scale multi-centre studies that will compare the effects and cost-effectiveness of innovative approaches for involving service users in the development and delivery of services. Studies will combine qualitative and quantitative research methods, and take account of developments in the field of organisational evaluation.

Clinical importance of the topic
During the past decade user involvement has been central to efforts to modernise the NHS. The interim report on the future of the NHS (2007) emphasised the role of service users in delivering improved quality of care for people with long-term conditions including mental health.

Service users have already helped to change the way that mental health services are delivered, but important challenges remain especially in relation to access to services of socially excluded groups. Research aimed at understanding the process and outcomes of different approaches to service user involvement is needed if these challenges are to be met.