We are delighted to announce that Altrum has been awarded funding from The National Lottery through Big Lottery Fund to establish a Risk Research Project that will last for 21 months from spring 2010.
Altrum is leading the research with two partners, Thistle Foundation and University of Stirling. The research will be carried out by a team comprising a Principal Investigator, Research Fellow and Research Consultant from the University; and a Research Support Assistant and Research Administrative Assistant employed by Thistle on behalf of Altrum. This Research Team will work closely with a Research Group, consisting of people who use services, in undertaking the work.
The purpose of this research is to ensure that support and care professionals, who make decisions about risks to adults, are fully informed about how they should best use their powers. The research participants will be 40 people who use the services of Altrum organisations. We aim to include people with a range of disabilities and a range of cognitive abilities, representing different ages, genders and different minority ethnic backgrounds.
The idea for this research came from discussions amongst Altrum member organisations regarding personalisation, what kinds of risks are essential to enrich people’s lives and awareness of the potential for over-application of protective measures. This project will enable us to identify an appropriate balance between the competing demands of local authority and health board protocols and guidelines, and the rights, needs and choices of people who use our services and their families.
Using Forum Theatre, which incorporates a mix of story-telling, drama and discussion, we will collect the views of around 40 people who use Altrum organisations’ services.
We will then generate evidence and information that will be used to train and inform professionals about the issues and principles that they must take into account when making decisions about risk.
As a result of this project, we hope to see potentially 17,500 people with disabilities having more choices and being more involved in decisions about risk and protection, giving them more control over their lives. We also hope to see professionals in approximately 300 organisations having enhanced knowledge of and skills in decision-making about risk. Our final intended outcome is that policy better reflects the views of people who use services.
