Expert by Experience involvement in Mental Health Nursing Education: The co-production of standards between Experts by Experience and Academics in Mental Health Nursing

Introduction: Involving people with lived experience of mental distress in mental health nursing education has gained considerable traction yet broader implementation remains ad-hoc and tokenistic. Effective involvement requires curricula be informed by lived experience of service use. Aim: To develop standards to underpin expert by experience involvement in mental health nursing education based on lived experience of service use. Methods: Phase one used qualitative descriptive methods, involving focus groups with service users (n=50) from six countries to explore perceptions of service user involvement in mental health nursing education. Phase two utilised these findings through consensus building to co-produce standards to support Experts by Experience involvement in mental health nursing education. Results: Three themes emerged in Phase one: enablers and barriers, practical and informational support, and emotional and appraisal support. These themes underpinned development of the standards, which reflect nine processes: induction and orientation, external supervision, supportive teamwork, preparation for teaching and assessing, 'intervision', mutual mentorship, pre and post debriefing, role clarity and equitable payment. Conclusions: These standards form the framework entitled; Standards for Co-production of Education (Mental Health Nursing) (SCo-PE [MHN]). Implications for Practice The standards aim to support implementation of Expert by Experience roles in mental health nursing education

Practice Guidelines for Co-Production of Mental Health Nursing Education

COMMUNE (Co-production of Mental Health Nursing Education) is an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership Project based on the collaboration of experts by experience (EBE) and mental health nursing academics from six European universities and the University of Canberra in Australia. Its purpose was to advance the involvement of those who have experiences of mental health service use (EBE) in mental health nursing education. The project combined experiential and academic knowledge, with the aim of co-producing a module on ‘mental health recovery’ for undergraduate nursing students; a module that was taught to the students by EBE. Principles of co-production where followed as much as possible, involving EBE in all stages of the process, from grant application to dissemination. The project tried to move beyond typical service user involvement and towards co-creation of knowledge, where power differentials are acknowledged and equity issues addressed. Barriers to meeting these goals were experienced and will be discussed in this Guidelines. We hope that these Practice Guidelines will be useful for those who intend to co-produce learning programs or modules in mental health nursing and inspire others to follow similar paths and learn from our experiences, positive or otherwise. These Guidelines provide an overview of our experiences, learnings, limitations and barriers.The Commune team decided on the term ‘Expert by Experience’ (EBE) to describe the members of the team and other collaborators who has lived experience of mental distress. Other more commonly used terms are ‘service user’, ‘consumer’ and ‘people with mental illness.’ As not all experts by experience are mental health care users, and what constitutes an illness is highly debated, the team decided on a term that more correctly describes and value lived experience.Erasmus

The political representation of asylum seekers by migrant NGOs in Ireland: examining the policy and practice of deliberative engagement

This thesis explores the political representation of asylum seekers in Ireland through an examination of the policies and practices of migrant NGOs. The rationale for undertaking the study stems from an interest in the way asylum seeker participation is facilitated and a concern that despite the promise of more participatory governance, the inclusion of asylum seekers in political processes remains under-explored. In particular, the research draws on the concepts of deliberation and participation as a guiding framework for the empirical study. Core principles underpinning the theoretical framework are drawn from Iris Marion Young’s theory of deliberative democracy. The alignments between deliberative structures and the four tenets of Young’s approach namely political equality, inclusion, public reasonableness and publicity are used to evaluate how migrant NGOs politically represent asylum seekers. The methodological approach is twofold. First, the study is anchored in critically investigating understandings and practices of representation and involves nine semi-structured interviews with migrant NGOs. Second, the study explores how asylum seekers understand, experience and participate in representation through conducting two focus groups with asylum seeker participants. Key findings highlight how ineffective representation cannot be limited to the actions of state institutions, but must also attend to how migrant NGOs facilitate participation and activism. The argument constructed from the findings illuminates how the critical scrutiny of the practices of migrant NGOs is necessary in order to re-orient practices of representation to inclusivity, openness, and the facilitation of solidarity across migrant NGOs. As such, the overall contribution demonstrates how poor representative structures inhibit opportunities for asylum seekers to become actively involved and exercise influence in decision-making processes and emphasises the need to promote the long-term consolidation of democratic governance in order to ensure active participation and a strong foundation for deliberation