Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Third Sector Research Centre, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
BMJ Open. 2017 Nov 8;7(11):e019238. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019238.
Timely access to the right kind of support for people experiencing a mental health crisis can be problematic. The voluntary sector (VS) plays a key role in providing support and enabling access, but there is a knowledge gap concerning its contribution and interface with public services in mental health crisis care. This study aims to address this.
The study has three empirical elements: (1) a national survey of voluntary sector organisations (VSOs) in England and national stakeholder interviews to develop a typology of organisations and interventions provided by VSOs; (2) detailed mapping of VS services in two regions through interviews and extending the national survey; (3) four case studies, identified from the regional mapping, of VS mental health crisis services and their interface with National Health Service (NHS) and local authority services, at both a system and individual level. Data collection will involve interviews with commissioners; VSO and NHS or local authority providers; and focus groups with people who have experience of VSO crisis support, both service users and carers; and mapping the crisis trajectory of 10 service users in each study site through narrative interviews with service users and informal carers to understand the experience of VSO crisis care and its impact.
The University of Birmingham Humanities and Social Sciences Ethical Review Committee granted ethical approval (reference ERN_16-1183) for the national and regional elements of the study. Ethical review by the Health Research Authority will be required for the case study research once the sites have been identified from the first two elements of the study. A range of methods including a policy seminar, publication in academic journals and a tool kit for commissioners and practitioners will be produced to maximise the impact of the findings on policy and practice.
及时为经历心理健康危机的人提供适当的支持可能会出现问题。志愿部门（VS）在提供支持和促进获得支持方面发挥着关键作用，但在其在精神健康危机护理方面对公共服务的贡献和接口方面存在知识差距。本研究旨在解决这一问题。
该研究有三个实证要素：（1）对英格兰志愿部门组织（VSO）进行全国性调查，对国家利益相关者进行访谈，以对 VSO 提供的组织和干预措施进行分类；（2）通过访谈和扩展全国性调查，详细绘制两个地区的 VS 服务地图；（3）从区域测绘中确定四个案例研究，研究 VS 心理健康危机服务及其与国民保健制度（NHS）和地方当局服务的接口，包括系统和个人层面。数据收集将包括与决策者、VSO 和 NHS 或地方当局提供者的访谈；与有 VSO 危机支持经验的人（包括服务使用者和照顾者）的焦点小组；以及通过对每个研究地点的 10 名服务使用者的叙事访谈，绘制他们的危机轨迹，以了解 VSO 危机护理的体验及其影响。
伯明翰大学人文社会科学伦理审查委员会为该研究的国家和地区部分授予了伦理批准（参考号 ERN_16-1183）。一旦从研究的前两个部分确定了研究地点，就需要对案例研究进行健康研究管理局的伦理审查。将制定一系列方法，包括政策研讨会、在学术期刊上发表文章以及为决策者和从业者提供工具包，以最大限度地提高研究结果对政策和实践的影响。
