Involving young people in an evaluation of a mental health project

2008 Conference

This poster talk describes the rationale, methods and results from an evaluation of a young person’s mental health project which involved young people in the design and implementation of the research. The poster will review the main aims of the evaluation which were:

• Examine young people’s perceptions of the usefulness of the Project in terms of accessibility, appropriateness and acceptability
• Identify from young people themselves their definitions of mental health problems and the associated stigma
• Develop a language of mental health problems that are age and culturally appropriate and meaningful to young people
• Identify protective and supportive factors in maintaining mental health and promoting resilience
• Track the process of development of the Project over 3 years by seeking staff views and consulting with referring agencies
• Contribute towards the children’s rights/ participative research agenda

The poster will show how young people were recruited as co-researchers and trained to fully participate in the research evaluation. It will provide results of the evaluation and include perceptions of the young people who used the services provided by the project. Conference participants will be provided with information and knowledge about:

• How to recruit young people as researchers
• Ethical issues raised
• What difference involving young people made