Led by Dr Abby Russell, Senior Lecturer in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, along with co-applicant Dr Helen Eke, this project used PPIE funding to explore the effects of nature-based education for neurodivergent young people.
Amount of award: £990.44
Patient and public involvement was instrumental in developing a research development grant application around the potential benefits of nature-based education on the mental health of neurodiverse young people. Earlier PPIE (Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement) work, conducted in 2021 by Dr Abby Russell and her team, identified nature-based education as an area of future research. However, as nature-based education is heterogenous and varies hugely by location, it was important to hear from those with lived or professional experience of using this approach across different settings.
“In order to build on the previous work and develop a competitive grant application, we wanted to engage with existing and new patient and public stakeholders. These included young people, parent carers, and educational practitioners with knowledge and experience of nature-based education, who enabled us to discuss our emerging research plans and gain meaningful input regarding the focus of our work. It was also important to help establish an appropriate PPIE strategy for proposed work, to ensure this was conducted with patient and public involvement throughout. The award enabled us to achieve this.”
The PPIE funding allowed them to conduct 1:1 phone calls or online meetings with a range of PPIE members and hold a 1.5-hour focus group meeting. This focus group was composed of neurodivergent young people, parent carers of neurodivergent young people, and education teachers or practitioners- all with first-hand experience of nature-based education. The team also developed a short questionnaire for neurodivergent young people, to help gather their thoughts and experiences of nature-based education.
The award funding enabled the employment of a member of staff to coordinate the PPIE activities over 2-3 days . This role encompassed a range of responsibilities, including advertisement, recruitment, meeting planning, and coordinating both phone calls and focus groups.
When finding new members, the aim was to recruit eight members to participate. In total, the researchers made contact with thirteen interested members, and conducted seven 1:1 online meetings, as well as one focus group . Following this focus group, both attendees and individuals unable to attend were given the opportunity to contribute any further thoughts via a workbook. “This allowed us to gather additional data, both from meeting participants, and other involved parties. The award also allowed us to offer an acknowledgement payment to all those who offered their time.”
Ultimately the contributions of the PPIE group have helped to focus this research, and it has reinforced the need for increased study of alternative education provision. “Being able to have a dedicated member of staff to coordinate the PPIE for this project worked really well, and offering this wide range of feedback options enabled us to engage a range of participants, gathering valuable input in a manner that they were comfortable with.”
A challenge with PPIE activities is often finding appropriate times that are convenient for the group. To ensure researchers were able to overcome this, they offered to conduct the group meeting after school hours, to encourage teachers and parents/carers to attend. The timing (and method) of the individual conversations was also flexible.
The greatest benefit of the PPIE work for this project was how it has steered the focus of future work. The PPIE activities have directly informed the proposal of a much wider project around nature-based education, including the research design, methods of data collection used, and recruitment of an appropriate population group.
The PPIE members have the acknowledgment of contributing to new research, and (with prior permission) will be invited to continue to contribute to PPIE activities in the project going forward.
The work conducted with this PPIE award contributed to the successful application for a research development grant. The grant is now underway with work being conducted on a scoping review. This will inform a wider grant application, including the development of a before and after study of nature-based education provision and its impact on the mental health of neurodivergent young people.
“This PPIE award was a springboard to focus the work and engage a wider range of stakeholders from the outset, helping to inform future research in the field. We hope that the same group of stakeholders, and additional new members, will continue to engage with us as the project grows.”