Assessing the impact of university students’ involvement in the first year of Nurture-U: a national student wellbeing research project

Research Involvement and Engagement

Research

Amber Lahdelma¹  Thomas Gilpin²  Katy Humberstone³  Amina Ghezal⁴  Husna Hassan Basri⁵  Pranati Misurya⁵  Ellen Marshall⁶  Ed Watkins⁷  Jemima Dooley⁷ 

[1] Combined Honours Department, Peter Chalk, University of Exeter, EX4 4QD, Devon, UK;Coronary Research Group, University Hospital Southampton, SO16 6YD, Southampton, UK;Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, Southampton, UK;Department of Languages, Cultures and Visual Studies, University of Exeter, EX4 4QH, Devon, UK;Department of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, University of Southampton, SO17 1BF, Hampshire, UK;Department of Politics, University of Exeter, Penryn, TR10 9FE, Cornwall, UK;Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, EX44QG, Devon, UK;School of Psychology, Newcastle University, NE1 7RU, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK;Sir Henry Wellcome Centre for Mood Disorders Research, University of Exeter, EX4 4QG, Devon, UK;

关键词: Mental health;    Co-design;    Public involvement;    Students;    Co-production;    Public engagement;    Wellbeing;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40900-023-00478-7

 received in 2023-02-09, accepted in 2023-07-28,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundStudents experience lower levels of wellbeing than the general, age-matched population. A whole-university approach to mental health is encouraged, which must work for individuals from all backgrounds and experiences. Student input is vital in researching and designing these solutions. Nurture-U is a national, large-scale research project exploring better ways to support student wellbeing, with a Student Advisory Group (SAG) that feeds into project decision making. With the first year of the project now completed, we now critically review the processes and effectiveness of the SAG and how well the project is engaging and working with students.MethodsAssessment of the SAG’s impact on the project, the student advisors, and the researchers was undertaken through a content analysis of team meetings and collection of advisor and researcher feedback using the Patient Engagement Quality Guidance Tool.Results142 students worked on different tasks in the first year of the Nurture-U project. The SAG was involved in the project branding and marketing, and in the development and co-design of interventions and tools. They reported a positive experience, with involvement boosting confidence. They felt valued but reported not always knowing whether their input was implemented in final decisions. They also recommended different methods of providing feedback. Researchers found student input beneficial to communicate the viewpoint of a different generation and increase the relevance of the study, but also suggested improvements for communication between the research team and the student group.ConclusionsThis critical reflection of the SAG’s public advisor role in this large-scale research project was important in highlighting what worked well and areas to improve. As the project unfolds, we aim to adapt our methods of student input, increase the transparency of decision-making processes, and in turn increase student-led decision making within the project.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 10