Mental health recovery for survivors of modern slavery: grounded theory study protocol

Introduction Slavery and human trafficking are crimes involving the violation of human rights and refer to exploitative situations where an individual cannot refuse or leave due to threats, coercion or abuse of power. Activities involving slavery include forced labour exploitation, forced sexual exploitation, forced marriage and servitude. Epidemiological studies show high levels of mental health need and poor provision of appropriate support for survivors. What mental health recovery means to victims/survivors and how it could be promoted is under-researched. Methods and Analysis A grounded theory study based on individual interviews will be undertaken. Survivors from across the UK will be identified and recruited from Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and via social media. As per grounded theory methodology, data collection and analysis will be undertaken concurrently and recruitment will continue until theoretical saturation is reached. It is anticipated that approximately 30 participants will be recruited. Interviews will be audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and uploaded to NVivo 11. The constant comparative method will be used to analyse the data, in order to produce a theoretical framework for mental health recovery which is grounded in the experiences of survivors. Ethics and Dissemination Ethical approval has been obtained from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Ethics Committee at the University of Nottingham. The findings of the study will be disseminated to academic, professional, and survivor-based audiences to inform future policy developments and the provision of mental health recovery support to this population.