Developing a theory-informed complex intervention to improve nurse-patient therapeutic engagement employing Experience-based Co-design and the Behaviour Change Wheel: an acute mental health ward case study

Objectives: Our objectives were threefold: (1) describe a collaborative, theoretically driven approach to co-designing complex interventions; (2) demonstrate the implementation of this approach to share learning with others; and (3) develop a toolkit to enhance therapeutic engagement on acute mental health wards.

Design and participants: We describe a theory-driven approach to co-designing an intervention by adapting and integrating Experience-based Co-design (EBCD) with the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW). Our case study was informed by the results of a systematic integrative review and guided by this integrated approach. We undertook 80 hours of non-participant observations, and semistructured interviews with 14 service users (7 of which were filmed), 2 carers and 12 clinicians from the same acute ward. The facilitated intervention co-design process involved two feedback workshops, one joint co-design workshop and seven small co-design team meetings. Data analysis comprised the identification of touchpoints and use of the BCW and behaviour change technique taxonomy to inform intervention development.

Setting: This study was conducted over 12 months at an acute mental health organisation in England.

Results: The co-designed Let's Talk toolkit addressed four joint service user/clinician priorities for change: (1) improve communication with withdrawn people; (2) nurses to help service users help themselves; (3) nurses to feel confident when engaging with service users; (4) improving team relations and ward culture. Intervention functions included training, education, enablement, coercion and persuasion; 14 behaviour change techniques supported these functions. We detail how we implemented our integrated co-design-behaviour change approach with service users, carers and clinicians to develop a toolkit to improve nurse-patient therapeutic engagement.

Conclusions: Our theory-driven approach enhanced both EBCD and the BCW. It introduces a robust theoretical approach to guide intervention development within the co-design process and sets out how to meaningfully involve service users and other stakeholders when designing and implementing complex interventions.