G522 Participatory evaluation and co production – more than the sum of its parts?

• Published in: Archives of disease in childhood 2020-10, Vol.105 (Suppl 1), p.A185-A185
• Main Authors: Dharmarajah, KL, Blackstock, S, Fawcett, M, Soni, A, Watson, M, Hargreaves, D, Blair, M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Behavior Change; Children; Community involvement; Cooking; Eating behavior; Evaluators; Focus Groups; Health promotion; Motivation; Obesity; Participatory Research; Physical activity; Young Adults
• ISSN: 0003-9888; 1468-2044
• DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2020-rcpch.442

IntroductionPeer or Participatory research (where patients take a more central role) is a useful method for investigating health promotion and health inequity and raising research quality. Co-production of health services is becoming more routine but equity in involvement of citizens in research and evaluation is lagging behind. This is even more stark in children and young people.Our aim was to combine both approaches in an intervention to change behaviours around childhood obesity on a deprived local housing estate. This followed a ‘what matters to me’ approach and was conceptualised by local parents.MethodsOur integrated care collaborative supported parent volunteers to co-design and deliver a health and well-being intervention for local children. This was in the form of a 6-week ‘sprint’ of exercise and healthy living activities. 2 young evaluators were identified and trained. They helped design, conduct and analyse a peer-led evaluation with repeat follow-up at 2 years. Their analysis was then triangulated with our formal evaluation. We used mixed methods with qualitative and quantitative assessment.Results26 children were recruited with 12 completing the programme and 7 followed to 2 years. Young people aged 12 and older universally felt they could communicate their views better in a focus group led by a local young person with established trust and agency. We observed the value of our peer evaluator’s contribution to the design process and their insights during analysis.Post programme there were improvements in physical activity and nutrition scores in participants using validated scores. At 2 years retention of the following themes were also identified; the value of healthy eating and cooking skills, on-going participation in activities, increased motivation to stay active, on-going friendships and sense of community.DiscussionThe use of participatory evaluation in a citizen-driven intervention allowed penetrance through some of the established barriers within hard to reach communities, as well as enabling more meaningful results. We have demonstrated the desirability and acceptability of participatory research with children and young people.This intervention also reinforces that small, community–designed and delivered initiatives have the power to effect behaviour change sustained at 2 years.