Exploring staff perspectives on managing self-harm in inpatient mental health settings

In this blog, we interview Hannah Sharp, a PhD student at the University of Leeds based at the NIHR-funded Yorkshire Patient Safety Research Centre.

She spoke to us about the future of self-harm research and how you can get involved in an exciting project looking at self-harm in inpatient mental health care.

Hannah, we know you’re a PhD student at the University of Leeds and are based in the NIHR-funded Yorkshire Patient Safety Research Centre, but can you tell us a little more about you?

"Before starting my PhD much of my career was within the realm of ‘lived experience’ – meaning I spent time working in roles where I used my own experiences of accessing mental health services to help services improve, and I also helped services to develop how they work with people in lived experience roles. I’ve been working on my PhD since October 2023. I missed learning after my undergraduate degree, and love being able to spend time really understanding a problem before coming up with suggestions for improvement. So it's been an amazing opportunity so far, but still quite a way to go!"

Could you give us a summary of your PhD research so far?

"Trying to keep this short is difficult! My PhD as a whole is looking at how we can enhance the safety of care experiences for adults who self-harm whilst they are within inpatient mental health settings. I want to understand how we can create a system that supports staff and patients to stay safe, which means I’m not looking at trying to develop a particular psychological or pharmacological intervention.

I’ve done two studies so far looking at the literature and policy to try and understand what approaches are out there when it comes to managing self-harm, and found that there is quite a range of different information for staff on the topic. So now I’m doing an interview study with staff to try and understand what factors influence how they choose to manage self-harm in their day-to-day practice."

What made you choose that topic?

"My experience of mental health services (in England) has always been that the inpatient environment is seen as a space for managing the risk of physical harm to patients when that risk can no longer be managed in the community. Self-harm, including attempted suicide, is therefore a fundamental concern of these services. Research is identifying increasing numbers of reported self-harm incidents, and from speaking with staff working in services, it seems to be becoming a day-to-day concern for them.

Frontline staff are fundamental to supporting patients, including supporting them to support their safety from self-harm. With my interview study, I want to understand the factors that help staff to do that well, as well as those that might restrict them from doing so. I’m hoping that then we can think about how to maximise those supportive elements of the system and minimise those which get in the way."

Can people get involved in your research?

What does taking part involve?

"It’s an interview conducted via microsoft teams, and I ask that participants set aside around 60 minutes for the call. Participants are asked to have a think in advance of the interview and identify two incidents they feel they can remember and would like to discuss. I have some more detailed information for those who are interested – and would absolutely love to hear from anyone who might like to participate!"

How can people get involved?

"It’s an interview conducted via microsoft teams, and I ask that participants set aside around 60 minutes for the call. Participants are asked to have a think in advance of the interview and identify two incidents they feel they can remember and would like to discuss. I have some more detailed information for those who are interested – and would absolutely love to hear from anyone who might like to participate!"

Thank you for speaking with us! Do you have anything else you’d like to share?

"Thank you for your interest in my research! I’m really passionate about making sure that staff are involved in discussions about patient safety. I know we all have the goal to keep patients safe, and I hope that my research can help support that!"

A huge thank you to Hannah Sharp for sharing her insights and the important research she’s doing to improve patient safety in inpatient mental health settings. We’re grateful for the opportunity to learn more about her journey and the impact she hopes to make. We look forward to seeing how her work evolves and contributes to meaningful change.

You can learn more about Hannah's research here.

Share your research with Storm Skills Training

If you're conducting research in the field of suicide or self-harm prevention and would like to share your work, we’d love to hear from you. Research lies at the heart of what we do at Storm Skills Training, and supporting and amplifying research in this area is important in helping us to achieve our mission of losing fewer lives to self-harm and suicide. Please get in touch with us at enquiries@stormskillstraining.com if you’d like to get involved or tell us about your work.