Recovery Navigators evaluation project – supporting heavy drinkers towards better health
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Recovery Navigator Evaluation Project – supporting heavy drinkers towards better health
Background to the project
The North East region suffers disproportionately from alcohol harms; a situation which worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. People who come to emergency departments on a regular basis with alcohol problems have multiple support needs, often due to their mental ill-health. However, most have to navigate a complex health and social care system alone when trying to access help. This can be harmful for their health and mental wellbeing. These missed opportunities to provide timely support also cause significant costs to the NHS.
As part of a wider strategic response, a new Recovery Navigator role was introduced in six NHS Trusts across the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System (NENC ICS). Recovery Navigators provide holistic support to heavy drinking adults by addressing what matters to the person. This can include support with housing or benefits, and crucially helping to guide care across hospitals and local communities.
This study evaluated the Recovery Navigator programme’s early delivery and aimed to establish how the introduction of new roles has contributed to embedding holistic and co-ordinated alcohol care.
Project details
The study was a mixed-methods evaluation. Through analysis of linked routine health datasets, researchers compared service use of patients with multiple alcohol-related unplanned hospital admissions who have had contact with a Recovery Navigator against those who have not. They assessed both the frequency of contact and the type of Recovery Navigators’ activity.
They held semi-structured interviews with patients, carers and health and social care professionals to explore experiences of receiving and delivering the service. Interview analysis and interpretation combined reflexive thematic analysis, Normalisation Process Theory and shared sense-making sessions with PPI members.
A ‘hearts and minds’ survey was repeated towards the end of the study. This helped to indicate what has happened in healthcare professional’s attitudes towards alcohol as a health problem during our study’s delivery.
The findings aim to provide evidence of whether the introduction of Recovery Navigators is making a difference to people with alcohol and mental health problems.
The insights that were gained about implementing changes in alcohol care across different environments can inform future policy and practice in the North East and North Cumbria and beyond.
Who was involved
The project was been funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Three Research Schools Mental Health Practice Evaluation Scheme.
The study was led by researchers linked to the NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria, based at Newcastle University.
Researchers from the University of Sunderland, University of Kent and University of Bristol were also involved.
The project also involved the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, North East Commissioning Support (NECS) and the Recovery College Collective.
How were patients and members of the public involved?
The study embedded patient and public involvement (PPI) by engaging with two regional experts by experience groups; an online group with experts by experience, carers and public contributors; and having two patient and public members in the project management group’s monthly meetings.
Findings
- The research found that Recovery Navigators can improve continuity of care for people who attend hospitals frequently for alcohol-related reasons through working directly in hospitals and proactively at the interface of a range of community- and hospital-based services.
- While the study was specific to the North East and North Cumbria region in its context, the insights that have been generated can inform the development and evaluation of similar roles in national and international alcohol care, as a part of health service efforts to address and reduce alcohol-related health inequalities.
- Navigators also contribute to the wider workforce of link and peer workers, sharing many of the challenges and strengths with these cross-sectoral colleagues.
- People in these roles build connections across services to enable meaningful recovery processes, rooted in meeting patients’ and service users’ needs for relatedness, competence, and autonomy. Strong supervision and management support is key to the successful delivery of these roles.
- To deliver person-centred support and facilitate continuity of care, people in these roles need dedicated time to work with a small number of people with multiple health and social support needs.
You can download a policy briefing and a visual summary of the findings, below.
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Related work
Find out more
If you have any questions about this project, please contact Emma Holland – [email protected]