User participation in mental health nurse decision-making: a co-operative enquiry.

Aim: This paper is a report of a study to encourage participants to work together to identify strategies for increasing user participation in clinical decisions and to evaluate the value of co-operative inquiry as a vehicle for supporting learning in practice.

Background: Service user participation in the clinical practice decisions of mental health nurses is considered essential for good practice. Methods need to be found which enable opportunities for shared learning, facilitate practice development and empower service users.