Making Research Everybody’s Business: Developing and Assessing the Feasibility of a Behavioural Intervention to Increase Research Engagement in Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services
Background
Research-active healthcare organisations achieve better patient outcomes and are often quicker to adopt evidence-based practice. However, many children and young people (CYP) receiving mental health support are not routinely offered opportunities to learn about or participate in research. Clinicians working in mental health services face a range of barriers to research engagement, including limited time, confidence, awareness and organisational support. While there is extensive evidence describing these barriers, there is little evidence on which interventions successfully change clinician behaviour and increase research engagement in routine practice. This project aims to address that gap by developing and testing a behavioural intervention to support research engagement within CYP mental health services.
Aims and Objectives
The overall aim of the study is to develop and assess the feasibility of a co-produced behavioural intervention that increases research engagement among healthcare professionals working in children and young people’s mental health services.
The objectives are to:
- Understand the behaviours that influence clinician engagement in research.
- Review existing evidence and behavioural theory to identify potential intervention approaches.
- Co-design and refine an intervention with clinicians, research staff, young people and parents/carers.
- Assess the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention in NHS CYP mental health services.
- Generate evidence to support future testing, implementation and wider adoption across health services.
Methods
The study will use behaviour change theory and co-production approaches to develop and refine an intervention that supports research engagement among healthcare professionals.
Key activities include:
- A rapid evidence review to identify existing interventions, barriers and enablers to research engagement.
- Behavioural analysis using the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) framework to understand the specific behaviours that need to change.
- Focus groups, workshops and co-design activities involving clinicians, service managers, research staff, young people and parents/carers.
- Development and refinement of intervention resources, implementation guidance and support materials.
- Feasibility and acceptability assessment to determine whether the intervention can be delivered and evaluated in practice.
- The resulting intervention may include training, education, organisational support mechanisms, implementation guidance and practical tools designed to increase clinician participation in research activities.
Further Information
The project is led by Dr Hannah Armitt, Lead Clinical Research Psychologist at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust. The study is being delivered in partnership with University of Sheffield and aligns with the NIHR ARC Yorkshire & Humber Healthy Families theme, particularly the Adolescence and Youth sub-theme. It also has cross-cutting links to Implementation and Health Economics.
The research is strongly co-produced, with involvement from clinicians, young people, parents and carers throughout the project. Stakeholders will help shape intervention design, identify priorities and inform implementation planning to ensure the intervention is practical and suitable for routine NHS services.
If successful, the intervention could:
- Increase clinician confidence and engagement with research.
- Improve opportunities for children, young people and families to participate in research.
- Support more research-active mental health services.
- Accelerate the implementation of evidence-based care.
- Provide a scalable model that could be adapted for use across other NHS services.
Study duration: November 2027 to July 2029.