July 2021 Newsletter

Welcome to the inaugural newsletter update for the “Experience-based investigation and Co-design of approaches to Prevent and reduce Mental Health Act use” study, also known as Co-PACT. As a brief introduction, Co-PACT explores the disproportionate sectioning of racialised populations under the Mental Health Act in the UK, using photovoice as a novel and creative policy-research tool that engages service users as co-researchers. Funded by the NIHR Policy Research Programme and lead by Prof. Kam Bhui and Dr. Roisin Mooney (based at the University of Oxford), the research takes place within seven cities across the UK and will involve multi-stakeholder engagement for the co-designing of a new systems approach that seeks to reduce the inequalities related to compulsory detentions under the Mental Health Act. 

The project officially began in February 2021, and will run for a period of 25 months. At the current stage, ethics approval has been granted and recruitment will begin once capacity and capability has been acquired from the eight participating NHS trusts. Members of the research team have undertaken photovoice training, and we hope to have completed all the workshops by December 2021.

This study promises to bring forth innovative and important insights, in regards to both content and method. We look forward to updating you on the progress of this exciting work through future newsletters, as well as through webinars and other engagement initiatives. If interested, please do give us a follow on Twitter @co_pact. If you have any queries, comments or ideas  please do not hesitate to contact co-pact@psych.ox.ac.uk