The CO-produced Psychosocial INtervention delivered by GPs to young people after self-harm (COPING): protocol for a feasibility study

Mughal, Faraz; Chew-Graham, Carolyn A.; Saunders, Benjamin; Lawton, Sarah A.; Lewis, Sarah; Smith, Jo; Lancaster, Gillian; Townsend, Ellen; Armitage, Christopher J.; Bower, Peter; Kapur, Nav; Kessler, David; Realpe, Alba X.; Wiles, Nicola; Ougrin, Dennis; Lewis, Martyn

Abstract

Background
Self-harm in young people is a growing concern and reducing rates a global priority. General practitioners (GPs) can intervene early after self-harm but there are no effective treatments presently available. We developed the GP-led COPING intervention, in partnership with young people with lived experience and GPs, to be delivered to young people 16–25 years across two consultations. This study aims to examine the feasibility and acceptability of conducting a fully powered effectiveness trial of the COPING intervention in NHS general practice.

Methods
This will be a mixed-methods external non-randomised before-after single arm feasibility study in NHS general practices in the West Midlands, England. Patients aged 16–25 years who have self-harmed in the last 12 months will be eligible to receive COPING. Feasibility outcomes will be recruitment rates, intervention delivery, retention rates, and completion of follow-up outcome measures. All participants will receive COPING with a target sample of 31 with final follow-up data collection at six months from baseline. Clinical data such as self-harm repetition will be collected. A nested qualitative study and national survey of GPs will explore COPING acceptability, deliverability, implementation, and likelihood of contamination.

Discussion
Brief GP-led interventions for young people after self-harm are needed and address national guideline and policy recommendations. This study of the COPING intervention will assess whether a main trial is feasible.

Registration
ISRCTN (ISRCTN16572400; 28.11.2023).

Citation

Mughal, F., Chew-Graham, C. A., Saunders, B., Lawton, S. A., Lewis, S., Smith, J., …Lewis, M. (in press). The CO-produced Psychosocial INtervention delivered by GPs to young people after self-harm (COPING): protocol for a feasibility study. NIHR Open Research, 4(27), https://doi.org/10.3310/nihropenres.13576.1

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 8, 2024
• Online Publication Date: May 8, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jun 13, 2024
• Journal: NIHR Open Research
• Print ISSN: 2633-4402
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 27
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3310/nihropenres.13576.1
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/849470
• Additional Information: Referee status: Awaiting Peer Review; Grant Information: This project is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) under its [‘NIHR Fellowships Programme’ (Grant Reference Number NIHR300957) to Faraz Mughal]. CJA is supported by the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre and CJA and NK are supported by the NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration (NIHR204295). CCG is funded by the NHS, NIHR or NIHR Applied Research Collaboration, West Midlands. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.; Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.