MELODIC is a co-design research project. This means that academic researchers work equally alongside the intended end users of the research.
This includes stakeholders, such as people who work in a specific setting, and experts-by-experience, such as service users and their family members or loved ones. The end users advise on all aspects of the design, conduct and analysis of the research.
By listening to end users' knowledge of working within, or receiving support from services, we can ensure that our research looks at the most important questions and is delivered in a way that answers the research questions, and that its outputs are manageable for participants and services to engage with.
In MELODIC, we have a co-design team led by an expert-by-experience, together with a member of the research team who has worked as a clinical psychologist on inpatient mental health dementia wards.
Other team members include family members of people with dementia who have stayed on wards, as well as a music therapist, occupational therapist, consultant nurse, and ward manager working on mental health dementia wards across three NHS Trusts.
Team plan
September 2023: co-design meeting
Aim: get to know each other and the project, and finalise questions and adverts, for work package 1.
October 2023 – February 2024: focus groups and interviews
Aim: to understand experiences of distress on wards and identify support needs, for work package 1.
February 2024: co-design workshop
Aim: look at findings from work package 1, and design first version of MELODIC manual, for work package 2.
May 2024: co-design meeting
Aim: finalise first version of MELODIC manual for work package 2, and agree plan for work package 3 pilot.
June – September 2024: pilot of first version of MELODIC manual
Aim: see if contents of manual are possible to deliver, collect data on whether it is helpful, and gather feedback from patients, staff, and families, for work package 3.
September 2024: co-design meeting
Aim: update MELODIC manual based on findings from work package 3, and plan for work package 4.
September – December 2024: pilot of second version of MELODIC manual
Aim: see if contents of manual are possible to deliver, collect data on whether it is helpful, and gather feedback from patients, staff, and families, for work package 4.
December 2024: co-design meeting
Aim: update MELODIC manual based on findings from work package 4, and plan for sharing event.
February 2025: sharing event
Aim: share findings with the public.