Keyworker perspectives on employment support for people with mental health problems
This project involves qualitative research with keyworkers who support participants in the Action Towards Inclusion programme.
Action Towards Inclusion (ATI) is an employability programme operating across York, North Yorkshire and East Riding, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and the European Social Fund. ATI is focused on those furthest from employment and facing a variety of (often complex) barriers to work.
Better Connect is collaborating with the Centre for Society and Mental Health to carry out research to understand the experience of ATI keyworkers as they support people towards and into training and employment. The project will provide practical and operational insights for Better Connect and contribute to the CSMH objective to understand how conditional welfare benefits within the UK social security system influence and interact with mental health.
Aims
The overarching aim of the research is to contribute to understanding of what makes for effective employment support for people experiencing mental health problems, drawing on experiences of the ATI Programme. Specific aims include:
- To access valuable perspectives on keyworkers’ and participants’ mental health and benefits experiences during ATI and how they frame these
- To gain understanding of the circumstances and experiences of people seeking support from ATI, with a particular focus on the conceptualisation and influence of mental distress
- Via these findings, to inform Better Connect’s work on ATI participant engagement (initial and ongoing)
- To offer insights to the keyworker organisations about participant experiences, giving them perspective on the lived experience of sample of participants
- To consider how differing conceptualisations and experiences of mental distress may influence interactions and outcomes in the employment and welfare contexts
- To contribute to better understanding of effective support to help people with experience of mental distress to move towards and into paid employment
- To have a piece of academic research into ATI conducted and published, as Better Connect continue marketing and begin to assess and evaluate the project
- To contribute to Better Connect’s wider strategic partnership work, by influencing attitudes, policy and practices around mental health and employment
Methods
The research uses semi-structured qualitative interviews to explore the views and experiences of ATI keyworkers, particularly those specialising in mental health. Key themes of interviews include:
- Keyworkers’ experiences of carrying out their role
- Their perspectives on the experiences of ATI participants, and
- Perceived influences of conditional welfare benefits on ATI participant experiences and outcomes
The research will enable direct insight into the experiences of keyworkers, exploring their ways of working, the facilitators and challenges they encounter, and their perceptions of how their role and support offer could be enhanced for participants. The research will also allow indirect insights into the nature of mental health difficulties experienced by ATI participants, the dimensions and contexts to these difficulties, and the ways that ATI participants ‘make sense of’ their experiences. A particular interest is in how these experiences intersect with people’s employment and welfare system interactions, and the implications for effective outcomes.
