Abstract
Previous research has highlighted the importance of providing support to carers, family and friends of people with
schizophrenia or psychosis. Despite this, carers continue to report difficulty receiving and accessing support. Providing
this as an online format may address some of this unmet need and there has been a recent focus on online interventions
for carers of people with schizophrenia, psychosis or bipolar disorder. This PhD project aims to expand on previous
work by examining carer online support usage with the aim of developing a model for an online intervention to improve
the wellbeing and quality of life (QoL) of carers of someone with a severe mental illness.
Using a mixed methods design including both qualitative and quantitative aspects, 8 carers of someone diagnosed with
schizophrenia or a psychosis-based disorder were asked to complete health questionnaires (measuring wellbeing and
QoL) at two time points (baseline and 6 weeks). During this time, carers were asked to complete a weekly diary
measuring online support usage before being invited to attend a semi-structure individual interview. Six professionals
who work regularly alongside carers of people with schizophrenia and psychosis, were also invited to attend an individual
interview. Interviews consisted of experiences and opinions of available online support for carers of someone with a
severe mental illness and views towards developing an online intervention aiming to improve carer wellbeing and QoL.
Results will be analysed using thematic analysis and fussy-set qualitative comparative analysis.
schizophrenia or psychosis. Despite this, carers continue to report difficulty receiving and accessing support. Providing
this as an online format may address some of this unmet need and there has been a recent focus on online interventions
for carers of people with schizophrenia, psychosis or bipolar disorder. This PhD project aims to expand on previous
work by examining carer online support usage with the aim of developing a model for an online intervention to improve
the wellbeing and quality of life (QoL) of carers of someone with a severe mental illness.
Using a mixed methods design including both qualitative and quantitative aspects, 8 carers of someone diagnosed with
schizophrenia or a psychosis-based disorder were asked to complete health questionnaires (measuring wellbeing and
QoL) at two time points (baseline and 6 weeks). During this time, carers were asked to complete a weekly diary
measuring online support usage before being invited to attend a semi-structure individual interview. Six professionals
who work regularly alongside carers of people with schizophrenia and psychosis, were also invited to attend an individual
interview. Interviews consisted of experiences and opinions of available online support for carers of someone with a
severe mental illness and views towards developing an online intervention aiming to improve carer wellbeing and QoL.
Results will be analysed using thematic analysis and fussy-set qualitative comparative analysis.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 52 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
| Event | British Sociological Association : Media, Culture, Sport and Food Plenary Stream - Duration: 2 Apr 2018 → … |
Conference
| Conference | British Sociological Association |
|---|---|
| Period | 2/04/18 → … |
Keywords
- carer
- schizophrenia
- psychosis
- wellbeing
- quality of life
- intervention
- digital
