Dhonnagáin Niall Mac, O'Reilly Aileen, O'Brien Gillian, Dooley Barbara
University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Jigsaw, The National Centre for Youth Mental Health, Ireland.
Early Interv Psychiatry. 2025 Feb;19(2):e70000. doi: 10.1111/eip.70000.
Research with integrated youth mental health services (IYMHS) has been criticised for low quality, with difficulties in recruiting and retaining participants in studies which can introduce bias. This feasibility study aimed to investigate the "real-world research" barriers and facilitators to recruitment and retention arising in a longitudinal study with Jigsaw, the National Centre for Youth Mental Health in Ireland, and to provide recommendations for conducting IYMHS research in future.
A qualitative study was conducted to investigate recruitment and retention difficulties. Participants were young people attending Jigsaw (n = 14) and members of clinical staff (n = 29), who provided feedback on facilitators and barriers to recruiting and retaining participants in a wider youth mental health intervention study. Data were collected via online surveys. Content analysis was conducted on the findings.
Facilitators included the prosocial motivation of young people to support others through research, providing incentives for participants, clear communication and information sharing, and the supportive role of parents/guardians. Identified barriers included the timing of recruitment, communication difficulties, gatekeeping, and reluctance to participate in research. Suggestions provided to address barriers in future were integrating research teams into services, addressing communication difficulties, and timing the recruitment of youth participants appropriately.
Where possible, IYMHS should conduct research in person in services to improve communication and reduce gatekeeping. In addition, services should consider remunerating participating young people in research and involve parents/guardians when designing research in this context.
针对综合青少年心理健康服务（IYMHS）的研究因质量不高而受到批评，在招募和留住研究参与者方面存在困难，这可能会引入偏差。本可行性研究旨在调查在与爱尔兰国家青少年心理健康中心“拼图”开展的一项纵向研究中出现的招募和留住参与者的“现实世界研究”障碍及促进因素，并为未来开展IYMHS研究提供建议。
开展了一项定性研究，以调查招募和留住参与者方面的困难。参与者包括参加“拼图”项目的年轻人（n = 14）和临床工作人员（n = 29），他们就更广泛的青少年心理健康干预研究中招募和留住参与者的促进因素和障碍提供了反馈。通过在线调查收集数据。对研究结果进行了内容分析。
促进因素包括年轻人通过研究支持他人的亲社会动机、为参与者提供激励、清晰的沟通和信息共享，以及父母/监护人的支持作用。确定的障碍包括招募时间、沟通困难、把关以及不愿参与研究。为未来解决这些障碍提供的建议包括将研究团队融入服务、解决沟通困难以及适当地安排青少年参与者的招募时间。
在可能的情况下，IYMHS应在服务机构中亲自开展研究，以改善沟通并减少把关。此外，服务机构在设计此类研究时应考虑对参与研究的年轻人给予报酬，并让父母/监护人参与进来。
