Over the last 12 months the Oxford Health BRC PPI team have focussed on involving young people with our research, ensuring that their views and priorities have been recognised during the pandemic. Working with the NEUROSEC/NeurOX Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG) of more than 30 young people aged 14-18, there has been particular emphasis on digital approaches which has helped make involvement opportunities more inclusive.
Together with members of the YPAG the team have worked on a total of 8 different projects, many relating to the pandemic, with outputs including a series of podcasts and blog posts from both young people and researchers, offering insight into their experiences of digital involvement.
Professor Ilina Singh, Theme Lead for Patient and Public Involvement at the BRC, said:
Our work with young people in the NeurOx Young People’s Advisory Groups has generated a rich portfolio of activities, including co-designed research and co-published papers. This portfolio showcases Oxford Health BRC’s commitment to genuine participatory involvement and engagement, working with diverse groups of young people in mental health research. In the future, we will advance the reach and scale of our work together, developing innovative methodologies that empower and amplify young people’s voices in research.“
The following projects have been underway since March 2020 – many with the aim of supporting young people’s views and priorities through the pandemic. You can read a detailed update on the aims, findings and outcomes of these projects here.
Covid-19 consultations: March to April 2020
Consultations with young people at the start of the covid-19 pandemic, when ‘lockdown’ restrictions were first put in place, intended to determine key areas to support young people’s mental health and wellbeing through research during the pandemic. You can read the full consultation document here.
Covid Peer Support Study: May to September 2020
A co-designed randomised wait-list controlled study evaluated the impact of a Peer Support Training Course (the “Uplift Programme”) on those being trained as peer supporters.
Peer-to-Peer Support to Help Adolescents Cope with Moral Distress during COVID-19: September 2020 and ongoing
The co-designed follow-up project (to the Covid Peer Support Study) involved testing the peer-to-peer intervention delivered by the participants (or Uplifters) in the previous study, who have now been trained in peer support.
Oxford Health BRC EDI project – widening involvement of young people in mental health research
This project included initial theoretical desk research and consultations to inform an inclusive capacity building approach to widen involvement of young people in research. It aimed to capture insights into what young people feel is important to consider to ensure young people’s involvement is diverse and meaningful.
NeurOX YPAG EDI widening involvement strategy and implementation: 2021 – 2022
Following consultations and digital experience working on research projects, and through collaborations over the past year, a proposed capacity building model has been designed to respond to an EDI strategy by focussing on three core principles: Accessibility, Sustainability, and Trust and Transparency.
The capacity building approach intrinsically addresses each of the NIHR UK Standards for Public Involvement. The implementation plan is to be reviewed by groups of young people.
BeGOOD projects: legacy of a 5-year programme involving young people in research
Consultation on BeGOOD design bioethics tools: March 2021
This session was aimed at reviewing the 5 Citizens Early Intervention Ethics: BeGOOD design bioethics tools that have been co-produced with NeurOX YPAG members over the past 5 years to inform interpretation and guide planning for further research. The tools were designed to reach, amplify and explore diverse young people’s voices on questions that are important to guide the development of mental health interventions.
NeurOX cross-sector projects
Childline/NSPCC Cross-sector placement: September to December 2020
The aims for this collaborative project were to inform further research and the development of the Childline message board platform. The focus was characterising the barriers and facilitators to help seeking and exploring how peer-peer interactions facilitated support and help-seeking for young people who had experienced emotional abuse and neglect. Integral to this co-production project we wanted to demonstrate the meaningful role that young people can play as co-researchers through their lived experience and contextual perspectives and to explore ways to support and extend their involvement in analytical methodology.
NeurOX collaborative research involvement
Supporting the Oxford PERL Lab Young people’s insights into antidepressants for the Wellcome Trust: September to December 2020
The aim of this Oxford PERL Lab project was to involve young people in a review to highlight what is known about the effects of antidepressants for this age range and what outstanding questions still remain. Working together with a group of young people with relevant lived experience from the NeurOX YPAG and The McPin Foundation was important to get their insights on this very relevant topic.
