A comparison of participant information elicited by service user and non-service user researchers

Objective: The study examined whether data collected by researchers who were service users differed from data collected by non-service user researchers in a study that measured perceived coercion. Methods: Over two years, 548 inpatients in England were interviewed during their first week of compulsory admission to a psychiatric bed at three regional mental health provider settings. Each site had one service user researcher and one nonuser researcher. The dependent variables were two measures of perceived coercion. Service users disclosed their status, including past hospitalization, to 93 of the 242 (38%) patients they interviewed. Results: No differences were found on either variable between the three researcher categories (nondisclosed user, disclosed user, and nonuser researcher). An interaction with site was noted, and possible interpretations of this finding are discussed. Conclusions: Further research is needed to determine the conditions under which service user researchers obtain information that differs from that obtained by nonuser researchers.