ABOUT THE PROJECT

INTRODUCTION

OUR MISSION

OUR AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

WHY THE STUDY HAS BEEN STARTED?

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR PARTICIPANTS

OUR PLANNED RESEARCH STUDY SCHEDULE

HOW TO CONTACT US IF YOU HAVE A QUERY OR AN ENQUIRY ABOUT THE PROJECT?

Many people admitted to the hospital with mental health problems experience poor sleep. This can be due to noise, ward routines, medication side-effects and other issues. Poor sleep can worsen mental health problems. Currently, the recommended treatment for people with poor sleep is an intensive talking therapy. However, some people with mental health problems in hospital struggle to engage with talking therapies. Sleep medication can have unpleasant side-effects such as daytime sleepiness and addiction. We need a new sleep intervention that does not require as much motivation as talking therapy and does not have the side-effects of sleep medication. This intervention would allow more patients to have better sleep in hospital and improve their mental health. In the long term, it could lead to faster recovery and less time in hospital.

Our research team, who will make decisions and run the project, includes patients with lived experience of mental health problems and poor sleep in hospital, as well as healthcare professionals and academics. Together, we will work with other patients, healthcare professionals, and carers in two stages to design the new sleep intervention. We will open this study to patients with a range of characteristics such as age, gender and diagnosis to make sure we hear a wide range of views on sleep. This will help us design an intervention that is likely to help a greater number of different people. We will also invite carers and a range of healthcare professionals, such as nurses, doctors and occupational therapists, to contribute to the intervention design.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

We want people in the hospital to have the best night’s sleep possible to lead healthier, happier, safer and more productive lives. People have told us that sleep in hospital is difficult. We will understand the sleep experiences in the hospital and co-design a low-intensity sleep intervention that is ready for feasibility testing. We will embed excellence in our user-led work which will reflect the Trust values of respect, compassion, and responsibility.

OUR PARTICIPANTS

We will open this study to patients with a range of characteristics such as age, gender and diagnosis to make sure we hear a wide range of views on sleep. This will help us design an intervention that is likely to help a greater number of different people.

We will also invite carers and different healthcare professionals such as nurses, doctors and occupational therapists. They will take part in a focus group to discuss survey findings and come up with ideas for a new sleep intervention.

LONG-TERM IMPACT

This intervention would allow more patients to have better sleep in hospitals and improve their mental health. In the long term, it could lead to faster recovery and less time in hospital. 

At the Forensic Service Research Meeting, clinicians from Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust and academics from the University of York discovered mutual interest in improving sleep. With funding from PORSCH (Prison and Offender Research in Social Care and Health), we held an involvement and engagement event at the Riverside Stadium, bringing together academics, clinicians, non-clinical staff, clinical managers and people with lived experience to explore the topic of sleep. In the morning, sleep experts by profession and experience in the region gave presentations and round table discussions took place in the afternoon. The event ended with a representative from the NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research)  Research Design Service summarising the day and proposing next steps on our research journey.

We successfully applied for TEWV Research Capability Funding from R&D to establish the Forensic Sleep Research Group. The group comprised academics from the University of York and Imperial College of London, TEWV clinicians and individuals with current lived experience of sleeping in the secure mental health inpatient setting. Activities of the group included:

• • Undertaking and publishing a scoping review of sleep interventions evaluated in mental health inpatient settings.

• • Visiting the sleep lab at the University of York.

• • Presenting the work of the group at the 11th European Congress on Violence in Clinical Psychiatry in Norway in 2019.

• • Networking with a research team in the Netherlands.

• • Giving a co-created oral presentation at the Royal College of Psychiatrists Forensic Faculty conference.

• • Holding a hospital-wide engagement and involvement event attended by patients, clinicians, managers and commissioners.

• • Successfully securing funding through the NIHR research for Patient Benefit scheme which enabled the SIESTA project to commence.

OUR PARTICIPANT INCLUSION CRITERIA

• An inpatient at Ridgeway, Roseberry Park who is aged 18 years and above.

OUR PARTICIPANT EXCLUSION CRITERIA

• Anyone who lacks capacity or is unable to provide informed consent. 

• Anyone who is too unwell to take part.

• Anyone who poses a direct risk to the safety and wellbeing of the research and involved staff.

• Anyone who is unable to complete a questionnaire with appropriate support in place. 

THE STUDY WILL BE SPLIT INTO TWO WORK PACKAGES

WORK PACKAGE I

First, we will promote the research study at Roseberry Park. This will include putting up posters around the hospital and speaking to patients and staff. 

2025

APRIL TO JUNE - Start recruiting to the survey for a duration of 12 weeks, until the end of June 2025. 

JULY TO AUGUST - Data cleaning and analysis, and creation of topic guides for focus groups.

OCTOBER- Focus groups will start and be completed by the end of the month. 

NOVEMBER - Transcription and analysis of data. 

WORK PACKAGE II

2026

JANUARY- Form first iteration of intervention, and suggested outcome measures. 

FEBRUARY- Present first iteration of intervention to the first reference groups, to gain feedback. 

FEBRUARY/MARCH - Analysis of feedback from the reference group discussions. Refining intervention. 

MARCH - Informal reference groups, fine tuning intervention design. 

APRIL - Celebration Event