Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38837299›Full record

ArticleHealth expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy2024

Hard to reach? Methodological challenges researching vulnerable, gang-involved, young people.

Rhiannon Barker, Chris Bonell, G J Melendez-Torres

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Hard to reach? Methodological challenges researching vulnerable, gang-involved, young people.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Rhiannon BarkerPublic Health Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-7854-6810
Chris BonellPublic Health Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
G J Melendez-TorresSchool for Public Health Environments Research, Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.

Funding

National Institute for Health and Care Research MH015
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionResearch with young people (YP) is ethically challenging and bound in a complex maze of issues relating to power, voice and representation. Such sensitivities mean that the challenges raised in researching marginalised YP are often hard to navigate. This paper reports on research carried out with YP to explore links between mental health, school exclusion and involvement in criminal gangs. It aims to provide a practical guide to negotiating some of the methodological and ethical challenges experienced.

methodIn-depth interviews conducted with 28 YP (aged 14-24 years) who were gang involved or seen to be at risk of gang involvement. Research was conducted in youth clubs, alternative provision and youth justice settings.

resultsOBSERVATIONS/REFLECTIONS: We reflect on how navigating ethics can create barriers to involving YP as primary informants in research. We consider why it is important to overcome these hurdles and how public engagement work with recognised gatekeepers and the use of creative interview methods can facilitate meaningful encounters, where YP feel able to share valuable insights into their lives.

conclusionAlongside a number of specific learning points, the paper reflects on theories behind research with YP, including the need for recognition of power imbalances and reflexivity. It concludes with thoughts on the practical realities of achieving meaningful participation or an 'authentic voice' with marginalised groups and the importance of this in informing policy and practice. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: The focus of this work was to collect experiences of YP who are recognised as gang-involved or at risk of being so, with a view to informing health and education policies. The scoping study for the project involved extensive public engagement work with YP exploring and trialling suitable methods of accessing, recruiting and ultimately interviewing this target group. This is central to the discussion within the body of the paper.

Indexed as

Interviews as TopicAdolescentFemaleHumansJuvenile DelinquencyMaleMental HealthPeer GroupQualitative ResearchVulnerable PopulationsYoung Adultethicshard to reachqualitative researchresearch ethics committeevulnerable

Identifiers

PMID38837299
PMCPMC11148633

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.