Summary:
What is the project about? We are looking at how we can improve the different parts of and approaches to the methods that we use to combine and make sense of evidence* for different stakeholders (e.g., formal systematic reviews or systematic maps). Such evidence is used to design policies and make decisions about interventions at global and national levels.
In the past, much of the research focus has been on aspects of child health such as weight and BMI. We want to understand what broader aspects of child health, including those associated with healthy eating, physical activity, and mental health, may better reflect the concerns of policymakers, practitioners and those affected by such decisions about their or their child’s health. We also want to know whether this differs depending on a child’s local area.
We aim to:
- Explore how co-production can help prioritise factors within and surrounding the child that influence patterns of health around areas of interest (e.g., healthy eating, physical activity and mental health).
- Determine how to use existing data to help our understanding of how the factors relate to child health.
- Identify what interventions are associated with better or worse health.
- Better design evidence synthesis methodology to capture contextual factors in a more helpful way to inform decision-makers about potential success.
As part of this work, we are also interested in learning about and reflecting on the co-production processes that we use throughout the project. As such, we will collectively decide on an approach for exploring these processes.
Who is working on the project?
- Researchers at the EPPI Centre (Evidence for Policy & Practice Information Centre) at University College London (Silvy, Rachael, Alison, and Katy)
- Co-Production Collective at UCL (Vanessa, Krisztina, Niccola)
- You (if you would like to join us)
What you are looking for:
To ensure this work is meaningfully co-produced and addresses needs and expectations of those using and impacted by the evidence, we are looking to work with up to 8 people who may be:
- A parent/carer of a young person (i.e. aged 18-25 years), or a young person themselves who has experience of child health problems associated with being overweight
- People who work in healthcare based roles who have experience with child health (e.g., paediatricians, GPs, nurses, etc)
- School teachers, particularly who teach health and physical education
- Social care workers
- Child or developmental psychologists
Expected commitment from participants:
What would I be doing?
These are some of the tasks involved in Step 1:
- Reviewing the many factors affecting child health as outlined in the current logic model (you can see a snippet of this in Image 2 above)
- Updating the model by prioritising the factors we discuss
- Exploring how the updated logic model can be visualised and made interactive
- We will also explore the processes we use to co-produce this refined version of the model. Together, we will decide how we’d like to do this.
What time commitment is required?
We expect a time commitment of 30 hours over 4.5 months, between mid-February and end of June 2024. This depends on how you wish to be involved in the project. There is likely to be additional funded time after this time for further involvement activities (timing to be confirmed)
Commitment to inclusion:
At Co-Production Collective, we are keen to make the projects we are involved in equitable and accessible for all. These are opportunities open to all individuals support and training will be provided. We are particularly keen to recruit from groups that are typically under-represented in health research and decision-making. If there is anything we can do to make it easier for you to apply, please get in touch with Vanessa via email at v.bennett@ucl.ac.uk.
What are the potential benefits of joining the project?
In addition to working on a project that will contribute health and social care decisions in the UK, joining has many benefits:
- Remuneration according to the Co-Production Collective Payment Policy (£25 per hour)
- Receive training in co-production methodologies
- Named on the project’s annual report (if you would like to be)
- Acknowledged within sub-project reports to which you contribute
- Feature on the LACES webpage (if you would like to be)
Closing date: 14th February, 12 noon
If you apply for this opportunity please let the organisers know you found it via Shaping Our Lives. Thank you!
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