Table 4 Descriptions of empirical studies (qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods, including case studies with empirical data)

Case study/report with empirical data

 Berzoff [23]

2006

Describes and evaluates a master’s programme for social workers

Social workers working an average of 15.3 years in end-of-life care; ages from 26 to 71, Mage = 47.7 years; range of settings, including hospitals, community-based agencies, prisons, hospices, and nursing homes.

Not mentioned

Secondary data analysis of student’s evaluations

Thematic analysis

The hours students spent with their supervisors modelled how to be fully present with their dying and bereaved clients

 Campbell [39]

2012

Secondary analysis of two contrasting case studies using peer education as the starting point for involving highly marginalised women in HIV/AIDS management.

Women with AIDS living in the community

Not mentioned

Secondary data analysis of case studies

Case comparison

Transformative communication (TC) flourished in one site and failed in another; TC is unlikely to be practiced in a non-transformative context, aspects of the material, symbolic and relational contexts of the two case studies profoundly shaped the possibility of successful TC. Creating enabling environments for transformative communication is a crucially important, though often neglected element of community health programmes.

 Celik [41]

2021

Investigate how a secondary school improves the educational engagement of working-class, second-generation Turkish immigrant youth in Germany.

Students aged 15–18 years

14 students and 10 teachers

Semi-structured interviews, observation, documentary analysis

Qualitative content analysis

The school’s institutional habitus combines the communal values of the immigrant community and the middle-class academic practices; the former narrows the gap between home and school, and the latter modifies the classed feelings of students.

 Davies [57]

2019

Examines the progress of introducing Enabling Environments (EE) standards across seven sites

Approved premises residents and prison inmates

Four approved premises (24–26 residents) 3 prisons (250–1000 inmates)

Part of a larger EE impact study—observations/discussion with staff, service feedback, prison resident responses

Thematic analysis

It is essential for those leading services and new initiatives to engage with staff on the ground to demonstrate why the change is necessary and should be pursued now. Those involved in service development need to have sufficient knowledge and understanding to make links between their practice and the standards/goals and need to be able to “buy into” the process. While Leadership and Involvement are two of the 10 EE standards, it appears that these might be considered foundation areas which are required as a platform onto which the other aspects of the process “sit.”

 Durocher [64]

2019

To discern relational approaches adopted by families in planning for the discharge of older adults from inpatient settings

Patients, family members and professionals involved in discharge meetings (family conferences) in three case studies

N = 20 (five older adults, seven family members and eight healthcare professionals)

Secondary analysis of micro ethnographic case studies, including observational field notes & semi-structured interviews

Qualitative exploratory

Family members employed strategies to promote older adults’ participation in decision-making that were consistent with relational autonomy theory, to overcome tensions between older adults’ wishes to return home and family’ assumption of a primary role in discharge decision-making and their wish for the older adult to move to a supported setting

 Kitchen [94]

2009

Examines how a respectful and relational approach to teacher development can result in deep and sustained professional growth and renewal.

One participant/researcher

1

Field notes and journals, reflections, and teaching documents

Narrative inquiry

Relational teacher development affirms the centrality of relationship in professional development and renewal.

 Markoff [109]

2005

Describes the “relational systems change” model developed by the Institute for Health and Recovery, and implementation to support integrated and trauma-informed services for women with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders and histories of violence

Service providers; women clients; key staff

9 focus groups, number of interviewees not mentioned,

Focus groups, Semi-structured interviews

Qualitative analysis, network analysis

The WELL Project demonstrates that a highly collaborative, inclusive, and facilitated change process can affect services integration within agencies (intra-agency), strengthen integration within a regional network of agencies (interagency), and foster state support for services integration.

 Parker [135]

2002

Describes a model of workgroup-level factors that influence relational work, based on data from case studies of two caregiving workgroups.

Two women’s primary health care groups, each situated in a teaching hospital in a large city, one site was part of a private, university-owned hospital while the other was part of the nationwide Veterans Affairs (VA) health system.

Not mentioned

Documentary analysis and observations of meetings

Constant comparative method

Relational work in caregiving organizations depends not only on the skill of individual providers and care seekers but also on the extent to which the work group and organization are structured and operate in ways that are supportive of relational work behaviours. The more that such groups are conscious of themselves as groups that serve important functions in supporting the work of their members, the more likely they will be able to fill this role

 Webber [159]

2017

Explore how the case study school defines their approach and identify the strategies they put in place to support looked after and adopted children.

Head Teacher, intervention team leader/senco/Designated Teacher, Previous Class Teacher–Year 1, Previous Class Teacher–Year 2, Current Class Teacher–Year 3, Current Teaching Assistant

6

Semi-structured interviews

Thematic framework analysis

The approach involves six main components: Whole school approach of a therapeutic PACE attitude, Communication between staff including support for transitions, Physical contact–touch, regulating emotions, Bespoke provision for each child, Not shaming children, Working with families and multi-agencies

 Younas [168]

2017

Describe the usefulness of the relational inquiry approach by analysing a patient’s health-illness transition and the nurse-patient interaction.

1 case study: a 43-year-old patient, was admitted through the emergency department to the coronary care unit (CCU) of a private hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, with chief complaints of severe chest pain, diaphoresis, and shortness of breath.

1

1 case exemplar

Relational inquiry approach

The relational inquiry approach can help nurses to look beyond superficial clinical situations and recognize the impact of various contexts in nursing practice. It helps nurses to recognize the fact that they should not disregard the factors influencing the clinical situations but focus on their precise features. The use of the relational inquiry approach can help them to understand the diversity in the attitudes, beliefs, and values of people and enables nurses to engage in an authentic and respectful nursing inquiry to improve the nursing care given to a particular patient.

 Younas [169]

2020

Describe the relational inquiry nursing approach

2 case studies: 1 male, a 43-year-old man admitted with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. 1 female, an 81-year-old woman who was admitted to the hospital after a fall in a bathtub

2

2 case exemplars

Relational inquiry approach

The relational inquiry approach could play an essential role in developing an effective relationship with the patient and the family and explore their suffering at a deeper level. The nurses were able to recognize the complex interplay of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and con-textual factors.

Mixed methods

 Blagg [25]

2018

Reports on a study undertaken in three Indigenous communities in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia (WA) intended to develop diversionary strategies for young people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).

Representatives from key mainstream agencies (police, health, justice, education); Indigenous service providers and youth agencies.

122

Interviews and focus groups

Thematic analysis

‘decolonising’ approach; support for ‘community owned’ rather than ‘community based’ diversionary options. Mobile ‘needs focused’ court could draw on the techniques employed by ‘problem-oriented courts’ to promote better outcomes for young people with FASD.

 Elliott [66]

2011

Test a relational model of authority in victim-police interactions.

People who had reported a crime (personal or property) to the police in the previous year

110

Semi-structured interviews, quant data on victim demographics + type of crime reported/self-report measures of procedural justice, legitimacy and justice sensitivity and Social Desirability

Grounded theory analysis; constant comparison method; correlational and hierarchical regression analysis

The quantitative results supported the hypotheses that higher perceived antecedents of procedural justice would be associated with higher perceived legitimacy, outcome fairness, and satisfaction with the contact. Antecedents of procedural justice were a stronger predictor of outcome fairness and satisfaction than the realization of a desired outcome, and a stronger predictor of legitimacy than criminal history. Qualitative findings supported these results.

 Ferguson [71]

2020

To examine what social workers actually do, especially in long-term relationships

Social work teams, families in contact with these teams

Two differently configured SW teams

Ethnography including observational field notes & semi-structured interviews

Thematic analysis and constant comparison

Findings show that social work some of the time has a significant amount of involvement with some service users and the dominant view that relationship-based practice is rarely achieved is in need of some revision. Drawing on relational, systemic, and complexity theories, the paper shows how the nature of what social workers do and culture of practice are shaped by the interaction between available services, office designs, and practitioners', managers', and service users' experiences of relating together

 Mcpherson [114]

2018

Reports on a study of a program response to children who have experienced trauma and are placed in out-of-home care.

Graduated young adults, carers, social workers, psychologists, and manager

3 interviews (young adults), carer focus group and 14 interviews (key professionals), 48 client files (children)

Interviews, focus group, analysis of client files

Narrative inquiry

Key findings highlight the significance of relational practice to interrupt the projected trauma trajectory and for young people to stabilise and self-regulate

 Pahk [134]

2021

Presents a relational framework for peer-support design and its application to two existing peer-support services for solitary seniors in Seoul and Ulsan to understand the multi-faceted issue of social support

All female, aged between 65 to79

14

Case studies using observation and interviews and quantitative data

Content analysis, network analysis (peer support)

Peer-support services can be better targeted to meet the relational needs of peers, and thus offer a relational approach to analysing and designing peer-support services. This relational approach employs a set of metrics that correspond to the multifaceted characteristics of a support network.

 Porter-Samuels [137]

2019

Insights from a group of predominantly Pakeha teachers experiences of culturally responsive relational practice (CRRP)

Survey respondents’ professions: classroom teacher – N = 33; Teacher-aide – N = 5; SENCO – × 2; and ‘Walking’ school leader – N = 6). Focus groups info: Pakeha (N = 12), female (N = 13), and experienced teachers (< 5 years × 1; 5–10 years N = 5; > 10 years N = 10)

46 (survey), 14 (focus groups)

Anonymous survey & Focus Groups

Inductive thematic analysis

Five distinct themes: the centrality of relationships of care, owning one’s learning journey, contextual influences and environment, the preciousness of time, identity and wellbeing

 Quinn [139]

2021

Evaluation of a reflective learning programme developed by educational psychologists for school leaders in exploring the implementation of compassionate, relational approaches in schools, using an integrated whole school framework.

School leaders

44 school leaders from 32 schools participating in programme

Reflections on achievements using a Likert scale, world café method (12 weeks later)

Mean ratings compared by school, narrative synthesis

Whole school approaches have been identified as central to the strategy ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision’, with reference to whole school thinking as multi-component, coordinated and coherent rather than piecemeal interventions

 Rimm-Kaufman [140]

2004

Examine the ways in which experience with a relational approach to education (responsive classroom (RC) approach) related to teachers’ beliefs, attitudes, and teaching priorities

69 teachers in grades kindergarten through 3 at 6 schools (3 schools in their first year of RC implementation and 3 comparison schools)

140 Three schools implementing the RC approach and three comparison schools

Questionnaire and Q sort exercise

Regression analysis

Teachers who reported using more RC practices reported greater self-efficacy beliefs and teaching practice priorities that were consistent with those of the RC approach. Teachers at RC schools were also more likely to report positive attitudes toward teaching as a profession and to hold disciplinary and teaching practice priorities that were aligned with the goals of the RC approach.

 Williams [162]

2018

Evaluation of a training programme (The Restorative Approaches Family Engagement Project) delivered to voluntary sector family practitioners across Wales to increase used of RA

Questionnaire: 78% female, 20% male. Age ranged from under 30 to over 60 years old. All participants worked within the social care sector, most in family work and support roles (40 out of 81 respondents), housing (n = 13), and domestic abuse work (n = 8). Focus groups: 78% were female and 22% male, worked in housing associations/support (n = 10); family support (n = 5); mental health ser-vices (n = 3); domestic abuse support (n = 2); youth work (n = 2); and cancer support (n = 1)

112 (questionnaire) 23 (focus groups)

Questionnaire & focus groups

Deductive thematic analysis (focus group data). Statistical analysis (questionnaire)

Increases in practitioner confidence in using RA support wider evidence that links skills development with increased self-efficacy and confidence [171,172,173,174]. Moreover, the increases in all aspects measured: relationships with service users, communication, identifying user needs and goals, and facilitating change, give a rationale for why practitioners felt they could engage and work with families and clients better post-training; as well as indicating that RA gave their practice a necessary framework and set of tools that had a positive effect on the whole process of service provision and was more likely to engage service users, and stimulate changes.

Qualitative

 Anderson [12]

2016

Exploring the complexities of care; working environments; and knowledge, skills, and efforts of care aides who work in nursing homes.

Care aides

22 (2 in private nursing homes, 20 in publicly funded homes)

Interviews

Inductive interpretive analysis

Four themes were identified that contributed to an overall understanding of participants’ caring practices and relationships with residents and families: (a) Desiring the Ideal Relationship, (b) Establishing Relationships with Residents and Their Families, (c) Maintaining Relationships with Residents and Their Families, and (d) the Reality of Care Aide Work.

 Bainbridge [18]

2017

Considers the development of the therapeutic environment of a (Psychologically Informed planning Environment) PIPE Unit and in particular its translation for women in custody

Female offenders

Not stated

Narratives from focus groups

Thematic analysis

Importance of the environment; importance of relationships with staff; Importance of ordinary activities; Importance of the community

 Bjornsdottir [24]

2018

Enhance knowledge and understanding of the nature of home care nursing practice.

Members of five home care nursing teams and 15 older persons receiving care at home

Elderly care receivers n = 15; team leader nurses n = 8

Observations; interviews

Thematic analysis

Making a 'net' around each patient; organisational working "translational mobilisation

 Blumhardt [26]

2017

Explores the radical practice of anti-poverty organisation ATD Fourth World in England (where child protection is characteristically risk-averse, individualised, and coercive), as an alternative for work with families experiencing poverty and social exclusion

Trainee social workers

5

Transcribed interviews, discussion

Non-specific thematic/narrative analysis of qualitative data

Constructing and bolstering relationships… Reflecting a “relational welfare” approach that eschews the isolating, “transactional” approach of neoliberal social services to promote meaningful relationships within families and communities, and between social workers and families. Understanding born of shared experience is key

 Bøe [27]

2019

Examine factors described by milieu therapists as significant for relational work with youth placed in institutions

Four milieu therapists working in child protection institutions

4

Transcribed interviews

Interpretative phenomenological analysis

1 Structural and personal factors are both important for relational work. 2 Relational work is based in everyday events. 3 Time and togetherness create opportunities for shared understanding of the youth’s resources. 4 The potential in ‘togetherness’ reduces asymmetry and promote an equal relationship. 5 The milieu therapist’s ability to move between closeness and distance to the youth is crucial for the relationship.

 Bridges [32]

2017

Identify and explain the extent to which Creating Learning Environments for Compassionate Care (CLECC) was implemented into existing work practices by nursing staff, and to inform conclusions about how such interventions can be optimised to support compassionate care in acute settings.

Nursing staff, ward managers

47

Staff interviews (n = 47), observations (n = 7 over 26 h) and ward manager questionnaires on staffing (n = 4).

Narrative synthesis—using normalisation process theory as a framework

Relational work in caregiving organisations depends on individual caregiver agency and on whether this work is adequately supported by resources, norms and relationships located in the wider system. The success of the intervention was dependent on coherence and understanding of the principles—which generally reflected their philosophy for compassionate care. Staff were keen to participate but were not always clear whose responsibility it was to drive things forward. Reflective monitoring was valued by staff but difficult to sustain.

 Brown [34]

2018

Explores the views and experiences of 26 residential care workers in the Republic of Ireland regarding relationship‐based practice

Residential care home workers

26

Semi-structured interviews

Thematic analysis

Relationship‐based practice has not been fully understood and/or embraced in practice because of a culture of fear that has permeated the Irish residential childcare system. Using theoretical concepts associated with the sociology of fear, the paper explores their effects on practice and argues that these are amplified given the current low status of residential care workers, the impact of media reports and the influence of current discourses around professional practice in which ‘objective’ and ‘emotionally detached’ practice is viewed as synonymous with efficiency and effectiveness.

 Cahill [38]

2016

Exploring relationship-based approaches in residential childcare practice, from the perspectives of both residential childcare workers and young care leavers

Professionals and care leavers

32 professional and 4 care leavers

Focus groups and interviews

Not mentioned

Relationship based approach in residential care practice is grounded in the knowledge and skill base of the care worker along with characteristics and circumstances of both the care worker and the young person. Although these elements were identified as important for enhancing relationship-based practice, they were also considered factors that can mitigate against the quality of relationships formed. The ability to achieve relationship-based practice in residential childcare units rely heavily on both the young person's background and circumstances and the personality of the staff and their capacity to positively engage with such individuals.

 Carpenter [40]

2015

Examine the strategic organization-public dialogic communication practices of universities in the USA

Campus sustainability and student group leaders, 12 males and 25 females: professionals-41.62 years old and students- 23.29 years old.

37

Semi-structured interviews

Thematic analysis

The dialogic model of communication provides some unique insight into how IHE are positively cultivating a culture of sustainability on campuses by using communication to bring about mutually beneficial relationships. The results also reveal that SL most likely engage in empathy, followed by propinquity, mutuality, commitment and risk with students and staff as their main focus of their communication efforts.

 Conradson [48]

2003

Explores the ways in which drop-in centres may at times function as spaces of care in the city.

Service users, 2 senior managers interviewed and 8 volunteers

4 months of observation + two interviews with senior staff and questionnaires with 8 volunteers

Observations; interviews

Narrative synthesis—Carl Rogers’ [175] core conditions for successful therapeutic encounter used as framework

The emergence and endurance of such spaces depends both upon the willingness of some individuals to move towards others and, amongst those being engaged in this way, upon a receptivity to such initiatives. Spaces of care are shared accomplishments and, in reflection of this, may at times be socially fragile.

 Cranley [49]

2019

Explore shared decision-making among residents, families, and staff to identify relevant strategies to support shared decision-making in Long Term Care

Residents 70 years or older mild-moderate cognitive impairment; Relatives who visited at least monthly or where substitute decision makers for relatives

3 staff, 3 residents, 3 family members

Interviews (Individual)

Content and thematic analysis

Four main themes (and their sub-themes) that described resident, family and staff perspectives of shared decision- making: (a) oral communication pathways for information sharing (informal, indirect and formal communication pathways); (b) supporting resident decision-making autonomy (types of decisions made); (c) relational aspects of care facilitate shared decision-making (building trust and team collaboration); and (d) lack of effective communication creates barriers to shared decision-making (differing perspectives and reactive communication).

 Creaney [52]

2020

Explore young people’s experiences of youth justice supervision with particular reference to the efficacy of participatory practices

Front-line professionals, operational managers, and children under youth justice supervision.

14 Front-line professionals 6 operational managers, 20 children

In-depth interview and participant observations

Thematic Analysis—Braun and Clark’s (2006) framework

Several young people were seeking to exert minimal energy to achieve a type of passive compliance with court order requirements, adopting a ‘‘ready-to-conform’’ mindset. Professionals were concerned that they were also participating in this type of ‘‘game playing’’.

 Deery [58]

2008

Examines community midwives’ experience of linear time during the third phase of a 3-year action research study to compare and contrast the ways in which they experienced this temporal framework, individually and organizationally, in their clinical practice.

Community-based midwives

8

In depth interviews

Analysis using the voice centred relational method of data analysis

Relational time was less dominant and required generous, less predictable, and more responsive spending of time, which was seen as well invested in trusting relationships, client, and job satisfaction, and good clinical outcomes. Time out of client care then became a sacrifice, as the midwives viewed the researcher as encroaching on their time, which was needed elsewhere with clients, in order to focus on their own and their clients’ needs. Organizational pressures thus affect midwives’ conceptualization of time, where there is an emphasis placed on being ‘on time’ for the sake of the organization rather than ‘spending time’ with clients.

 Dewar [60]

2013

Actively involve older people, staff, and relatives in agreeing a definition of compassionate relationship-centred care and identify strategies to promote such care in acute hospital settings for older people.

Registered nurses, nonregistered care staff, allied health care professionals and medical staff (n = 35, i.e., 85% of staff), patients (n = 10) and families (n = 12)

Medical Staff (n = 35) Patients (n = 10) Families (n = 12)

Observations, informal discussion, interviews, group interviews

Immersion crystallization [176]

Engaging in ‘appreciative caring conversations’ promotes compassionate, relationship-centred care but that these conversations involve practitioners taking risks. Such ‘relational practices’ must therefore be valued and accorded status. Staff require appropriate support, facilitation, and strong leadership if these practices are to flourish.

 Ellery [65]

2010

Discover how RTLB (Resource Teachers: Learning and Behaviour) can effectively support secondary teachers to enhance inclusive classroom practices by investigating students' perceptions of their personal experience and perception of inclusive practices at secondary school.

Secondary school children years 7–11

4

Focus groups, photovoice

Grounded analysis/appreciative inquiry

Three themes identified: Students said that they wanted their teachers to make them feel welcome in their learning spaces and to give them a sense of value and belonging. Secondly, students said that the development of positive and respectful relationships between students and their teachers was important, involving a reciprocation of information between themselves and teachers. Thirdly, students expanded on the topic of learning needs and interests to express their ideas about how they wanted to receive learning support.

 Emmamally [69]

2020

Describe Health Care Providers’ perceptions of relational practice with families in emergency department contexts.

Emergency department professionals

9

Semi-structured interviews

Content analysis

Four categories emerged from the content analysis: families and hcps connecting; recognising the uniqueness of families; caring interactions; and taking charge when necessary. Families and healthcare providers connecting: Participants likened relational practice to building a bridge that connects hcps with families, in which either party could easily reach out to the other.

 Emmamally [70]

2020

Describe families’ perceptions of relational practice when interacting with health care professionals in emergency departments in the South African context.

Families of patients admitted to ED

6

Semi-structured interviews

Qualitative content analysis

Four major categories identified from family members’ perceptions: Disrupted worlds; Care is what you see and hear; Powerlessness; Feeling disconnected. The disrupted world’s theme sets context and does not speak of relational practice. Care is what you see and hear: Caring relationally involves compassionate, interdependent relationships that are characterised by connecting with people. The last two themes were about negative experiences for family members; not RP or absence of RP.

 Hibbin [83]

2019

Explores a relational approach in school within the context of Nurture Groups, Restorative Practice and positive language and communication

Senior leaders, mainstream class teachers and NG specialists in seven schools in the Northwest of England for the nurture group study

14

Semi-structured interviews and observations

Constructivist grounded theory

To enact a principle of inclusion for troubled children, we need to create facilitating environments in school that are consistent, equitable and that promote trust, through naturalistic opportunities for positive language and communication.

 Howitt [86]

2020

Exploration of the transformative potential of relational, rather than transactional, community development practices

Residents, local and regional members of The Salvation Army, and other local stakeholders.

52

Interviews

Thematic analysis

Extending hospitality, recognizing strangers, and building relationships were central to both the theological underpinnings and personal and institutional practice in the No. 47 Project

 Ingolfsdottir [87]

2021

Views and experiences of professionals providing specialised services to disabled children and their families.

Professionals (language and speech therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, preschool special education, and social pedagogy), 12 females and one male, work experience ranged from six years to about 40.

13

Focus groups

Qualitative content analysis

Discrepancies between the policy aims and the conditions for service provision. These inconsistencies affect the work situation of the professionals, who are not encouraged by their employers to work in a family-centred inclusive manner. Instead, they meet various obstacles if they strive to adapt to the wishes and needs of the families to provide services at the child’s preschool or home.

 Kerstetter [91]

2016

Examines the extent to which authoritarian discipline systems are necessary for success at “no excuses” schools

10 teachers and other school staff members, all female, two participants identified as black, one identified as Latina, and the remainder identified as white, most participants under the age of 35 and two between the ages of 35 and 49.

10

Semi-structured Interviews and observation of teachers' work

Qualitative analysis

Relational approach to discipline cultivates non-cognitive skills more closely aligned with the evaluative standards of middle-class institutions, such as skills in self-expression, self-regulation, problem-solving, and conflict resolution. A comparison of academic achievement data also suggests that “no excuses” schools may be able to implement relational discipline approaches without sacrificing academic success on a key predictor of future academic performance.

 Kippist [92]

2020

Findings from the first of a two-part study exploring user experiences of brilliant renal care within the Regional Dialysis Centre in Blacktown (RDC-B).

The first world café involved 28 patients (n = 18) and carers (n = 10); while the second involved 18 staff members.

46 patients, carers, and staff members

World café

Constant comparative method

RDC-B is completely patient and relationally centred, with high-quality connections, dedicated and competent staff providing a complete, responsive, and personalized service that is also like being in a family. Drawing on POS, we suggest that relational-centred care requires at the very least high-quality connections and relational coordination to build and sustain the levels of positivity identified in the RDC-B.

 Kirk [93]

2016

Describes and evaluates an approach to social work practice, which divides levels of risk within the child in need category enabling adequate, coordinated support and oversight to be provided for children and families with complex needs.

Social workers (N = 13) and team managers (N = 3), three members of the Local Authority Safeguarding Board (LSCB) and two parents

16

Interviews

Interpretive discourse analysis

Practitioners and managers know that relationships lie at the heart of social work practice and that working in a relational way improves outcomes for children. They know too that an either-or approach means some children with complex needs may languish in the child in need category until a crisis moves them above the CP threshold. However, stepping outside formal procedures and processes leaves them vulnerable to criticism should things go wrong

 Kong [95]

2020

To provide insights for improving the local domestic violence service, whose main focus is on crisis intervention.

All women participants had experienced both physical and psychological abuse for at least 5 years, while most of them except NF and the researcher-participant, had children aged between 12 and 17 when the inquiry began. Among women participants, one was undergoing divorce proceedings and two were still fighting for custody during the inquiry.

7

Conversations, observational data, and interactive data

Constant comparative analysis (Glaser 1978)

The relational approach emerging from the project is about acknowledging the fluidity and multiplicity of identities performed by abused women at different times and space. It is to see identity work a crucial practice for bringing women’s marginalised stories to the surface and re-organising social relationships in ways to address power differences, such as that between sympathizes and sympathizers, dependents and independents and victims and survivors.

 Larkin [99]

2020

Through a study of how UYFS and practitioners in England experienced and constructed each other during their everyday practice encounters, the potential of the practice space for creating mutual understandings and enabling positive changes is discussed

Social workers, UYF asylum seekers

5 social workers; 3 UYFS

Interviews accompanied by free drawings

Analysis guided by the feminist model of Voice-Centred Relational analysis;

Rather than practice encounters being the site where policy and procedure are simply acted out, the data show them to be interpretations within unique events, ‘a locus of the generation of new trajectories and new configurations’ They can, therefore, be spaces of creativity and change, as well as relational spaces which exclude or silence.

 Lefevre [102]

2019

Analysis of data from a 2-year evaluation of the piloting of a child-centred framework for addressing child sexual exploitation (CSE) in England to illuminate dilemma between control and participation, and strategies used to address it

Professional and young people

Interviews—28 professionals, 17 young people, surveys × 300, 19 observations of meetings

Interviews with professionals, observations of meetings, 2 × surveys

Thematic analysis

Strategies for reconciling protection and participation—Clarity around threshold of concern,—Rights-based ethical position,—Doing with and for: participation as ‘doing with’ young people, involving young people as partners in evaluating the riskiness of their situations. Other participants spoke of ‘doing for’. This might involve ‘holding on’ to concerns about risk for as long as it took, waiting for the young person, who might have initially rejected this view, to ‘catch-up’. It could also mean ‘being the voice’ for the young person, advocating to the professional system on their behalf to ensure that their right to autonomy, choice and privacy was considered.

 Lindqvist [104]

2014

Examine the strategies used by teachers whose practice was considered inclusive (inclusive from a relational perspective)

Head teachers

5

Semi-structured interviews

Thematic framework analysis

7 themes that describe strategies of headteachers who operated a relational approach to inclusion of children with SEN in their schools: Organising work (having specific staff or time allocated to children with SEN, understanding needs to tailor support); valued solutions (flexible solutions from a range of options within the remit of teaching, personalised to student); Leadership (motivating, communicating, empowering to find solutions, participating in pedagogy, evaluating teachers, staff relationships); support staff (having teaching assistants and SENCOS—operational development staff to support teachers, as well as sufficient teachers and smaller class sizes) definitions of inclusion (varied but generally about including children with SEN in a classroom) striving for consensus (consistent understandings) welcoming outer steering (useful to have high standards and be accountable, following up students outcomes)

 Mccalman [110]

2020

Examines how boarding schools across Queensland promote and manage healthcare and wellbeing support for Indigenous students.

School staff

9

Semi-structured interview

Constructivist grounded theory

Main process through which boarding schools promoted and managed the health and wellbeing of Indigenous secondary school students was by weaving relational networks to support student-centred healthcare and wellbeing, building rapport with Indigenous students as the basis for providing healthcare and wellbeing support, Developing relationships with families, discusses strategies of health care delivery more practically, conditions: professional and cultural capabilities of school staff, attracting and retaining professionally and culturally capable staff. Barriers to school staff capacity were high workloads, short-term contracts, and inadequate cultural proficiency. Being Indigenous to be an important quality needed in student support teams, Attracting and retaining professionally and culturally capable staff. Barriers to school staff capacity were high workloads, short-term contracts, and inadequate cultural proficiency.

 Mcdonald [112]

2013

Examine how placements in community-based organisations enable trainee elementary school teachers to practice relationally

Trainee teachers

12

Interviews, focus groups, observations, and document review (also some surveys)

Comparative case analysis

Opportunities to 1) Develop deeper understandings of students and communities; (2) Develop more nuanced understandings of diversity, including intra-group diversity; (3) Examine school from an out-of-school perspective; and (4) Attend to the role of context in learning.

 Meer [115]

2017

Describes the intricacy of familial relationships for women with intellectual disabilities in South Africa who experience gender-based violence

Service providers

58

Semi-structured interviews

Not mentioned

A social relational model of disability may be better able to include the role of families in the lives of women with intellectual disabilities

 Miller [116]

2020

Explore practitioners’ views about the role of the narrative record in holding memories, feeding into recognition of capable agency, clarifying possibilities for action, restoration of identity and wellbeing

Carers

9 (six focus groups participants and 3 interviews)

Focus groups and in-depth interviews

Narrative hermeneutics

Though recording has come to be viewed as an onerous task by many practitioners, what emerged here was a stronger concern amongst practitioners to strike a balance between respectful interactions and flow of conversation and on the other hand, taking necessary steps within and between encounters to ensure that the record accurately reflects the carer perspective.

 Moore [118]

2020

Explore what NHS mental health professionals value about the peer support worker role

Mental health professionals

5

Qualitative interviews

Discourse analysis, psychosocial theory

Mental health professionals valued peers for the deeply empathetic, relational approach they brought based on subjective experiences. Peer work was valued for the affect-focused quality of this work, and the challenge peers pose to existing values in mental health services. The values of peer support troubled dominant ways of working based in forms of knowledge that favour objectivity and hence encountered challenges.

 Munford [122]

2020

Examine the experience of shame and recognition of vulnerable young people during transition to adulthood

Young people facing high levels of childhood adversity

107 in qual interviews (104 in final interviews)

Series of three interviews

Thematic analysis

Experiences of shame, misrecognition, and seeking recognition emerged as dominant themes in the young people's accounts. Young people's narratives also provided important insights into what constituted positive recognition. These were explored under each of the dimensions of recognition: love and care, respect, and being valued. The dimensions intersect and are realized within young people's trust‐based relationships with positive adults and peers.

 Muusse [124]

2021

Describe dilemmas related to multiple perspectives on good community mental health care, using multiple stories about Building U.

Partners of the CMHT were selected based on the fieldwork. Additional interviews were also conducted with five team members to further clarify the first author's observations and to reflect on their work. At the end of the fieldwork, six service users known to the researcher from previous house visits were approached through their case manager for an interview about their experiences with care and support from the CMHT.

19

Participant- observation and standalone interviews

Qualitative analysis not specifically mentioned

In ordering care from a relational approach, the focus is not only on the individual, be it a citizen or a patient, but also on the relations between patients, caregivers, and others. Caring is working on these relations – trying to establish or maintain them – and with these relations – to avoid a crisis, there is no clear directive or general method that prescribes how these relationships should be crafted; it depends on circumstances, personal styles and who is involved. What is the good thing to do can differ along the way. In this mode of ordering care, it is impossible for care workers to only address mental illness as a discrete medical domain; they have to engage in non- medical domains of peoples’ life (work, finances, health). In doing this, the division between treatment and support becomes blurred. Good care is building trust, knowing people, and intervening when necessary, from within the established relationship.

 Muusse [125]

2020

Exploring good care in the context of Trieste’s deinstitutionalised mental health care system/services

Not reported

Not reported

Interviews and participant observation

Qualitative exploratory

Good care involves working with and on relationships, care collective, negotiating goods, role of the professional "It’s about creating a social surrounding that functions as a buffer…. Working on the social determinants that create stability. Otherwise, the circle maintains itself.

 Noseworthy [131]

2013

Critically explores current issues around decision-making and proposes a relational decision-making model for midwifery care.

Woman–midwife pairs in a large region in New Zealand in late 2009 and 2010. Women were 18 years or older, this was their first or subsequent pregnancy and they were between 34 and 37 weeks of gestation.

8

Interviews (prenatally and postnatally)

Thematic analysis

Themes included ontological and philosophical influences on decision-making; uncertainty, vulnerability, and relational trust; and socio-political and cultural influences. Inconsistencies in knowledge arising from social, cultural, and familial considerations as well as identities, beliefs, values, conversations, and practices were found to produce uncertainties around potential courses of action, expected consequences and outcomes. ‘Unplanned’ birth experiences decreased client autonomy and increased vulnerability thereby intensifying relational trust within decision-making. The political context may also open up or close down possibilities for decision-making at both national and local levels.

 O'Meara [132]

2021

To explore women’s experiences of criminal justice systems to inform the development of guidance on working with women.

Study 1–women subject to community sentences or statutory licence periods ranging from 12 months to life sentences, all White British, mean age 41 years (SD = 10.34), the number of criminal convictions ranged from 1 to 22. Study 2–women currently serving sentences for violent or sexual offences, six identified their ethnicity as White-British, one as Asian-British, mean age was 35 years (SD = 5.1), number of criminal convictions held ranged from 1 to 53.

Study 1 = 6; study 2 = 7

Interviews

Interpretative phenomenological analysis and thematic analysis

Seven emergent themes indicated relational approaches to offender management may improve experiences of judicial systems for female offenders and for their probation officers. This approach may help prevent common systemic issues from perpetuating negative interactions between these groups. Specific suggestions for developing relational security and consistency of care within these relationships are provided.

 Steckley [143]

2020

To identify and explore potential threshold concepts in residential childcare, with a corollary question about the utility of threshold concept theory in considering student and practitioner learning.

Educators and practitioners

Educators (n = 15) and practitioners (n = 14) and 7 practitioners recruited for follow-up

Focus groups and follow-up in-depth interviews

Qualitive data analysis

Relational practice was the most prominent potential threshold in terms of frequency, depth, and emphasis in discussions across the practitioner focus groups; it was discussed by all the groups.

 Swan [145]

2018

Explores the psychodynamics of relationship-based practice from the perspective of young people in residential care.

Care leavers aged 18–24 years who had been in residential care in Ireland

10

Semi-structured interviews

Thematic analysis

Three themes emerged: first, the importance of a home-like environment; second, the positive elements of the key working relationship; and, finally, the importance of key working relationships enduring into the aftercare period. For many participants, their residential unit was the closest experience they had to a traditional concept of a home.

 Townsend [148]

2020

Presents findings on the potential role of money as a mechanism to enhance these capabilities from an on-going evaluation of a major place-based initiative being implemented in 150 neighbourhoods across England: The Big Local (BL)

Diverse stakeholders, including residents and participant observation in a diverse sample of 10 BL areas as fieldwork sites

116 (interviews) participant observation (10 areas)

Interviews and participant observation

Thematic constant comparative approach

Money enabled the development of capabilities for collective control in these communities primarily by enhancing connectivity amongst residents and with external stakeholders. However, residents had to engage in significant ‘relational work ‘to achieve these benefits and tensions around the money could hinder communities’ ‘power to act’.

 Tudor [150]

2020

Outlines some findings from an inquiry undertaken in the aftermath of 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which positive critique was used to examine the practice accounts of twelve school social workers alongside characteristics of recovery policies.

School social workers who had been working for a minimum of six months in schools in social work roles following the earthquakes, eight women and four men

12

Interviews

Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA)

A feature of the participants’ accounts of their practices with affected school children in the recovery space is their commitment to restoring and protecting their clients’ well-being through therapeutically inclined relational practice. The notion of relationship primarily centred on the school social worker–client relationship, such that it was positioned as the means through which positive change occurred. The participants discussed their relational practices as a positive mode of practice to the extent that they positioned it as a form of empowerment for children in schools.

 Valaitis [153]

2018

Examine Canadian key informants’ perceptions of intrapersonal (within an individual) and interpersonal (among individuals) factors that influence successful primary care and public health collaboration

Employed in or responsible for PC (n = 32; 43.2%), PH (n = 31; 41.9%), both sectors (n = 8; 10.8%) or neither sector (e.g., researchers) (n = 3; 4.1%), 5–40 years of healthcare experience, with 68% having over 20 years, most female (n = 58; 78.4%).

74

Interviews

Interpretive thematic analysis

Five interpersonal factors were found that influenced public health and primary care collaborations including: (1) trusting and inclusive relationships;(2) shared values, beliefs, and attitudes; (3) role clarity; (4) effective communication; and (5) decision processes. There were two influencing factors found at the intrapersonal level:(1) personal qualities, skills, and knowledge; and (2) personal values, beliefs, and attitudes.

 Vielle [156]

2012

Examines the philosophy of justice embodied in tikanga Mãori, the Mãori traditional mechanism and approach to doing justice which adopts a holistic and relational lens, requiring that justice be seen in the context of relationships and crimes dealt with in terms of the relationships they have affected.

Nine participants were under the age of 30, and four were older than 60

33 Mãori

Interviews

Not mentioned

The Mãori approach to justice adopts a holistic and relational lens, which requires that justice be seen in the context of relationships and crimes dealt with in terms of the relationships they have affected. As a result, justice must be carried out within the community and the process owned by community members.

 Ward-Griffin [157]

2012

Examines the provision of home-based palliative care for Canadian seniors with advanced cancer from the perspective of nurses.

Palliative care nurses

3

In-depth, semi-structured interviews and participant observations

Thematic analysis

Home-based palliative care nursing was depicted in this study as a dialectical experience, revealing three relational practice patterns: making time-forfeiting time, connecting-withdrawing, and enabling-disabling. Nurses attempted to negotiate the tensions between these opposing approaches to palliative care.

 Wyness [167]

2016

School-participants’ perceptions and understandings of the social and emotional dimensions of schooling.

School staff and pupils aged between 11 and 17, parents

18 members of staff, 20 pupils, four parents.

In-depth interviews and focus groups

Explanatory interpretive case study

The emphasis on the relational and emotional work undertaken by teaching staff underpins the case-study school’s approach to challenging the barriers to learning. A number of themes and concerns are reported in this article including relational work in school that extends into the community, the school as a sprawling network of communication and the heighted role of the emotions at a number of levels in school. In drawing on interview data from teachers, school managers, pupils, and parents we are developing a model of schooling that approximates to Fielding’s conception of a people-oriented learning community.

Quantitative

 Andrews [13]

2018

Explore mothers’ service use at breaking the cycle, an early intervention and prevention program for pregnant and parenting women and their young children in Toronto, Canada.

Mothers with poly-substance use involved with child protection services (enrolled in service)

160

Secondary data analysis (client charts/notes and referral forms)

Statistical analysis (ANOVA, t-test)

These vulnerable women were actively engaged in many services and for a long duration, early engagement was associated with greater service use, and greater service use was associated with more positive circumstances upon ending service

 Barrow [20]

2021

Service evaluation: explored viewpoints of key stakeholders, such as young people and frontline staff, about CSE services.

Young people experienced CSE, professional running CSE services

Young people n = 9; Professionals n = 9

Q-methodology

Q-sorts were subjected to factor analysis using Q-methodology software

Three factors were identified: (1) The importance of safety and atonement, (2) Managing trauma and mental health difficulties and (3) Family, normality, and a relaxed approach. All factors emphasized the importance of safety and trust between young people and professionals.

 Emmamally [68]

2018

Describe the adherence of emergency healthcare professionals to family-centred practices in some emergency departments

Emergency department professionals

79

Survey using checklist of adherence to relational and participatory family-centred practices.

Statistical analyses included (ANOVA, t-test)

Family-centred practices are not consistently adhered to and do not feature in every family interaction. The majority of the participants treated families in a dignified and respectful manner but only 68% of the participants communicated clearly and so provided complete information at a level that families could understand.

 Kuperminc [97]

2019

Examined associations among programmatic structures, workplace and workforce characteristics, and relational practices of program staff as they relate to young people’s ratings of their experience attending local clubs.

Ages 8–20 years old

57,710 members (aged 8–20) and 5231 staff

Member surveys

Independent samples t-tests, structural equation modelling

Strong correlations (.48 to .86) among the five indicators of relational practices as assessed at the setting level—establishing caring relationships, positive behaviour management, cultural sensitivity, setting high expectations, and youth input and agency—suggest a holistic view of staff interactions with youth: A staff that shows strength in one domain of relational practices is likely to have strengths in other domains.

 Kutnick [98]

2014

Effectiveness of a relation-based group work approach adapted/co-developed by HK primary school mathematics teachers

Mathematics teachers (10 women and 10 men), pupils

20 teachers and 504 pupils

Survey and interactions observations

Descriptive analysis, parametric and non-parametric analysis

Use of the relational approach was also associated with an increase in the experimental teachers’ PEF scores, which is indicative of their greater enjoyment of teaching age-appropriate mathematics topics and of greater learning engagement by their pupils relative to the controls.

 Laschinger [100]

2014

Test a model linking a positive leadership approach and work-place empowerment to workplace incivility, burnout, and subsequently job satisfaction

Nurses, 93.6% female, averaged 41.52 years of age, 16.80 years of nursing experience

1241

Survey

Structural equation modelling (SEM)

Resonant leadership had a strong positive direct effect on workplace empowerment (β = 0.47), which in turn had a significant negative effect on co-worker incivility (β =  − 0.25). Resonant leadership also had a significant direct effect on job satisfaction (β = 0.16) and all indirect effects in the model were significant at the two-tailed p < 0.05 level.