Suicide Bereavement Support Service: evaluation report - year 2
This report covers Year 2 of the multi-year evaluation of the Suicide Bereavement Support Service (SBSS). It draws on two years of the evaluation to date while also providing additional learning and evidence on experiences and outcomes.
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2. Evaluation methodology
The table below illustrates the fieldwork and data collection activity undertaken during this evaluation. Four phases of fieldwork took place over the duration of the evaluation. The fieldwork largely comprised one-to-one interviews by telephone or video call. During the final phase of fieldwork, service leads and service managers participated in a face-to-face group discussion. Table 1 provides a breakdown of SBSS staff participating in the evaluation during each fieldwork phase.
| Number of interviews Ayrshire & Arran | Number of interviews Highland | |
|---|---|---|
| Service leads | 1 | 1 |
| Service managers and assistant manager | 2 | 1 |
| Frontline practitioners (during each fieldwork phase) | 3 | 5 |
Table 2 provides a breakdown of interviews carried out over the duration of the evaluation with people supported by the service. It also details the interviews conducted with representatives of organisations that have made referrals to the service and those that have received referrals from the service.
| Number of interviews Ayrshire & Arran | Number of interviews Highland | |
|---|---|---|
| People supported by the service participating in an initial interview (roughly three months after engaging with the service) | 19 | 23 |
| People supported by the service participating in a second interview (four months after their initial interview) | 7 | 10 |
| People supported by the service participating in a third interview (four months after their second interview) | 1 | 5 |
| Representatives of organisations referring to the service | 7 | 3 |
| Representatives of organisations that have received referrals from the service | 2 | 1 |
All interviews were recorded and transcribed. The data was analysed thematically. Quantitative data was also collected by the service and shared with the evaluation team before each reporting phase. This included service monitoring and activity data (e.g. referral sources and support sessions delivered), which was organised and analysed using Microsoft Excel.
The service also administered the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS), which is administered three times (baseline, three months, and six months) by service staff with each person they are supporting who provides consent to complete it. There were 45 people whose SWEMWBS scores were measured at the start of the programme (baseline) and again at three months, and their scores were compared using a two-sided paired t-test. Of those, 24 people were also measured at six months, and their SWEMWBS scores were compared to their baseline scores using a two-sided paired t-test. As all the individuals in the six-month group were also in the three-month group, a Bonferroni correction was applied.
Contact
Email: socialresearch@gov.scot
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