Wadman Ruth, Williams A Jess, Brown Katherine, Nielsen Emma
1Department of Health Sciences, The University of York, York, UK.
2Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Res Involv Engagem. 2019 Apr 29;5:16. doi: 10.1186/s40900-019-0149-z. eCollection 2019.
Patient and public involvement (PPI) in mental health research, including self-harm and suicide research, is desirable (as with other health topics) but may involve specific challenges given the perceived sensitivity of the topic. This is particularly so when involving young people. We explore the experiences and perceptions of Early Career Researchers (ECRs) undertaking youth and adult involvement work in mental health, self-harm and/or suicide research. We consider current practice, barriers and facilitators.
An online survey of a convenience sample of ECRs ( = 41) undertaking research on mental health, self-harm and/or suicide. Questions examined the perceived value of involvement work, involvement methods used, funding availability and the extent to which researchers felt knowledgeable, supported and confident in their involvement activities. Descriptive statistics are presented with appropriate tests. Open-ended questions, related to barriers and facilitators for involvement work, were subjected to an inductive thematic analysis.
Youth and adult involvement work were valued to a similar extent, though institutions were reported to value youth involvement to a lesser extent. Researchers' knowledge, confidence and support ratings were comparable for youth and adult involvement. The involvement methods used with young people and adults were also similar, with analysing data being the least popular method used and developing resources (e.g. information sheets) being the most popular method used. Less than a third of participants reported that funding was available for their research involvement activities. Barriers to involvement in research on mental health, self-harm and suicide were: ethical issues and perceived risk; real costs (in terms of money/time) versus perceived value; and the challenge of recruiting people. Facilitators to involvement work were: expert examples, expertise and guidelines; and investment in involvement work.
ECRs in the fields of mental health, self-harm and suicide are engaged in youth and adult involvement work. They value (find worthwhile) youth and adult involvement work to a similarly high extent, but feel their institutions may regard youth involvement slightly less highly than adult involvement. ECRs rate themselves as feeling similarly knowledgeable, confident and supported when doing involvement activities with both age groups. Nonetheless, significant barriers to involvement work on these topics are reported and are generally issues that need to be tackled at an institutional level (ethical/governance issues and lack of funding).
患者及公众参与（PPI）精神卫生研究，包括自伤和自杀研究，是可取的（与其他健康主题一样），但鉴于该主题被认为具有敏感性，可能会涉及一些特殊挑战。在涉及年轻人时尤其如此。我们探讨了从事精神卫生、自伤和/或自杀研究中青少年及成人参与工作的早期职业研究人员（ECR）的经历和看法。我们考虑了当前的做法、障碍和促进因素。
对从事精神卫生、自伤和/或自杀研究的ECR（n = 41）便利样本进行在线调查。问题考察了参与工作的感知价值、使用的参与方法、资金可得性以及研究人员在参与活动中感到知识渊博、得到支持和自信的程度。呈现描述性统计数据并进行适当测试。对与参与工作的障碍和促进因素相关的开放式问题进行归纳主题分析。
青少年和成人参与工作受到的重视程度相似，不过据报告机构对青少年参与的重视程度较低。研究人员在青少年和成人参与方面的知识、信心和支持评分相当。用于年轻人和成年人的参与方法也相似，分析数据是最不受欢迎的方法，开发资源（如信息表）是最受欢迎的方法。不到三分之一的参与者报告称其研究参与活动有资金支持。参与精神卫生、自伤和自杀研究的障碍包括：伦理问题和感知风险；实际成本（金钱/时间方面）与感知价值；以及招募人员的挑战。参与工作的促进因素包括：专家范例、专业知识和指南；以及对参与工作的投入。
精神卫生、自伤和自杀领域的ECR参与了青少年和成人参与工作。他们高度重视（认为有价值）青少年和成人参与工作，但觉得其机构对青少年参与的重视程度可能略低于成人参与。ECR认为自己在与这两个年龄组进行参与活动时，在知识、信心和支持方面的感受相似。尽管如此，报告称参与这些主题工作存在重大障碍，这些障碍通常是需要在机构层面解决的问题（伦理/治理问题和资金缺乏）。
