Developing the evidence base to improve quality of care and health outcomes for children and young people in CAMHS psychiatric intensive care units (PICU) and other acute environments

The studentship is with University of Salford and National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care

This post graduate research project is part of a larger study which will include a programme of national stakeholder and service user engagement. The successful candidate will work with the project team using a mixed methods research design to establish a comprehensive understanding of how care provision for children and young people experiencing acute and complex mental health needs is organised, implemented, and used in the UK. Identifying barriers and enablers to effective child-led intensive mental health care provision and drawing out implications for improving standards for future design and delivery of intensive therapeutic mental health care for young people.

Research Objectives:

1. To develop a systematic and comprehensive understanding of the needs of young people requiring intensive/inpatient mental health care, where they are currently receiving this, the nature of such provision, outstanding needs and challenges, and examples of best practice and innovation.
2. To make a significant contribution to the nascent evidence base for effectively meeting the needs of children and young people experiencing serious mental health problems.
3. To use the learning from this project to improve care quality and health outcomes for children and young people who need intensive psychiatric care.

About Business Partner National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care

National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care and Low Secure Unit (known as NAPICU) is a Scottish Charity, SC048876, regulated by the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). NAPICU is a not-for-profit multi-disciplinary organisation, which was formally established in 1996 and is also a registered charity. NAPICU is committed to developing and promoting the speciality of psychiatric intensive care. We are dedicated to improving patient experience and outcome, and to promoting staff support and development. We promote research, education and practice development using quarterly meetings and annual conferences, our peer reviewed journal, training initiatives, our online and social media presence, through securing funding for research in to seldom-researched groups and topics, and development of evidence-based national practice standards.

Candidates:

Essential:

• Have a relevant health science degree and some experience of child/youth or mental health/social care-related subject area.
• A willingness to develop research design and implementation skills.

Desirable

• Post Graduate qualification or working towards one.
• Ability to demonstrate some relevant knowledge and experience of children and young people’s mental health and/or mental health care environments.
• Ability to engage with a variety of clinical stakeholders and mental health practitioners
• Knowledge of designing and conducting mixed methods research, including data collection within health care services, and data analysis, although some of this is expected to be learned during PhD studies.
• Previous experience of research (academic and industrial supervision team will provide support to develop these skills)

You will be expected to disseminate your research both to your academic peers and to external stakeholders, working with the project leads and project officer to maximise the impact of your work on child and adolescent mental health practice.

Post-registration practitioners in mental health, psychology, and social care subjects, who are looking to develop their research skills and career trajectory, e.g. Nurses (NMC), Psychotherapy & Counselling, (e.g. UKCP, BACP, BABCP, BPC) Social Workers (SWE), Occupational therapy or Psychology (BPS, HCPC), Pharmacists (GPhC) or equivalent are encouraged to apply.

Funding Eligibility: This studentship is only available to students with settled status in the UK, as classified by EPSRC eligibility. Please visit: https://www.ukri.org/councils/epsrc/career-and-skills-development/studentships/industrial-case/

Enquiries: Informal enquiries may be made to Dr Celeste Foster, [Email Address Removed]

Curriculum vitae and supporting statement explaining their interest should be sent to: [Email Address Removed]

Note to applicant: In addition to applying for this role the successful candidate will also be required to complete the University application process which applies to all students wishing to study at The University of Salford. How to apply for research studies can be found here:

https://www.salford.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/applying/applying-for-research

Application deadline: 16 April 2024

Interview date: 23 April 2024

The candidate must be in a position to register by May 2024