Ethical Approval and Being a Virtuous Social Work Researcher. The Experience of Multi-site Research in UK Health and Social Care: An Approved Mental Health Professional Case Study

ABSTRACT

Seeking ethical approval and conducting research in an ethical manner are necessary components of research with human participants. Using the experiences of four individual studies undertaken separately into the same role, that of the Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP), this article critically examines the challenges for multi-site research in health and social care settings. Issues arising are discussed: these are systemic and procedural, or barriers encountered using the integrated approach of the National Research Ethics Service. We discuss the lessons learned and argue that seeking ethical approval in multi-site research is currently a static construct involving the satisfying of what are in effect closed systemic and procedural requirements. We suggest that being a virtuous social work researcher, which we explore in the context of contemporary debates in social sciences, should instead afford open-ended integrity whereby the ‘permission’ granted is constantly revisited by the researcher or, in other words, that the integrated approach should allow being a virtuous researcher. We suggest that this cyclical activity has particular resonance for those researchers who are, simultaneously, health and social care practitioners. The article adds to the literature on ethics, conduct and integrity in health and social care.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethics
• Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP)
• governance
• multi-site

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr Kevin Stone is Associate Head of Law at the University of West of England, Bristol, is a registered social worker and a practicing Approved Mental Health Professional; previously the AMHP programme leader. His research interests lie in mental health social work, NHS workforce development, decision-making and involvement of family members in detention admission decisions.

Dr Sarah Vicary is Associate Head of School, Nations at the Open University and coordinates the Social Work History Network for which she is also the bulletin editor. Her research interests lie in mental health social work, the history of social work and the use of image-based methods in social work research.

Charlotte Scott is a Postgraduate Research Student undertaking her PhD at the University of Leeds and also teaches on the BA and MA in Social Work focusing on decision making, the social model of disability, social policy and mental health practice.

Rosie Buckland is a Postgraduate Research Student undertaking her PhD at the University of Bath and a registered social worker. Currently working as an Approved Mental Health Professional within an Emergency Duty Team.

ORCID

Kevin Stone http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9842-7755

Sarah Vicary http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9070-2695

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the ESRC – Charlotte Scott; University of Bath – Rosie Buckland.