How to capture the experience of mothers with alcohol problems involved in English family court proceedings - lessons from the field

Abstract

Purpose It proved difficult to recruit sufficient mothers to a prospective cohort study designed to explore the factors and characteristics of mothers whose children are the subject of the public care system as a result of their drinking, retaining or losing care of their children. In conducting interviews instead with social workers in six local authorities, the repurposed study aimed to explore their views of the barriers and facilitators to involving this “hard to reach” population of mothers in research at the beginning of care proceedings. Design/methodology/approach For this study, 36 semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with child and family social workers and social ..