Recovery through Care Coordination Research Project

Government policy over the last twenty years has attempted to tackle professional and public concerns around effective services for people with mental health needs and their carers. For example, the introduction of the Care Programme Approach (CPA) advocates care coordination through the allocation of a care coordinator, co-signed care plans and the arrangement of packages of care. However, the quality and delivery of care coordination has been patchy and it is still unclear to many what good practice means in this area. Mental health recovery refers to a holistic approach that enables mental health service users to set objectives for their own well being. It is however a contested term. This research project has attempted to addresses these issues by exploring whether there is a pathway to mental health recovery through care coordination.

The direct views and experiences of mental health service users and carers within Northumberland, Tyne and Wear have driven this project from the start. They are the researchers who designed the tools to be used, collected and analysed data and disseminated the findings. This approach is referred to as Emancipatory Action Research. The research was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (Research for Patient Benefit).

It is intended that this website contain material which is useful to anyone interested in:

• the Emancipatory Action Research approach,
• the role of care coordination in mental health services,
• the meaning of mental health recovery.