Talk About Self Harm (TASH): participatory action research with young people, GPs and practice nurses to explore how the experiences of young people who self-harm could be improved in GP surgeries

Bailey, Di; Kemp, Linda; Wright, Nicola; Mutale, Gabriella

Abstract

Background: The incidence of self-harm in young people in primary care is increasing dramatically and many young people who self-harm visit their GP surgery as a first point of contact for help.
Aim: To explore with young people, GPs and Practice Nurses; 1) why young people present with self-harm to primary care and 2) whether young people, GPs and Practice Nurses can take steps to have more helpful consultations about self-harm in GP surgeries that include self-help materials developed by young people being used to support such consultations to take place.
Design and setting: Participatory action research with GPs, Practice Nurses and young people employed mixed methods to collect statistical and narrative data.
Methods: Statistics from 285 young people’s medical records were captured including more detailed analyses of a random sample of 75 of these records. A series of 24 focus groups with a total of 45 GPs, Practice Nurses and Young People, with an average number of 8 participants in each group were conducted. Statistical data was subject to descriptive and inferential analyses and thematic analysis was applied to the transcripts from the focus groups.
Results and conclusion: The type of self-harm young people presented with influenced whether they would see a GP or Practice Nurse. While self-help materials were welcomed and deemed helpful, young people, GPs and Practice Nurses were ambivalent about using these in short consultations where time was an overriding constraint. More research is needed on the feasibility of adopting self-help assisted interventions in GP surgeries.

Citation

Bailey, D., Kemp, L., Wright, N., & Mutale, G. (2019). Talk About Self Harm (TASH): participatory action research with young people, GPs and practice nurses to explore how the experiences of young people who self-harm could be improved in GP surgeries. Family Practice, 36(5), 621–626. https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmz006

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 21, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Feb 23, 2019
• Publication Date: 2019-10
• Deposit Date: Jan 28, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 24, 2020
• Journal: Family Practice
• Print ISSN: 0263-2136
• Electronic ISSN: 1460-2229
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 621–626
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmz006
• Keywords: Family Practice
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1501553
• Publisher URL: https://academic.oup.com/fampra/advance-article/doi/10.1093/fampra/cmz006/5363903