Supporting educational and youth organisations to deliver self-harm and suicide prevention and postvention: a mixed methods study and co-produced guidance (the 4S study)
Researchers: Abby Russell, Judi Kidger, Lucy Biddle, Rowan Streckfuss Davis, Hannah Robinson, James Parsonage, Emily Widnall
You have been invited to take part in our research project, Support Systems for Self-harm, and Suicide in Young People (The 4S Study). Before you decide whether to take part, we would like you to understand why the research is being done and what it would involve. You can talk to others about the study if you wish and contact Abby Russell (contact details at the end) if you have any questions. Thank you for thinking about taking part.
You can also see a video version of this information sheet.
What is the purpose of the project?
Adults in schools and youth organisations, such as teaching assistants and coaches, often support young people with their mental health. This project is about helping schools and other youth organisations provide better self-harm and suicide prevention support to young people. In this part of the project, we want to explore young people’s experiences of support for mental health in their schools, clubs or groups. We want to know about guidance, procedures, or support that exists and your suggestions for how to make these better. In this part of the project, we want to explore young people’s experiences of support following a death by suicide in their school, club or group.
Why have I been invited to participate?
You have been invited to participate because you:
- are a young person (aged 16-21)
- go to a school, college or community group where somebody has died by suicide
We are asking you to take part in one focus group (a group discussion), with up to five other young people aged 16 – 21, and two researchers leading it. Three or four focus groups will happen in each area and each one will take about 90 minutes. You may take part in a 45-60 minute interview with one researcher if you prefer.
Do I have to take part?
No. It’s your choice to take part. Here, we will describe exactly what you will be asked to do if you choose to take part. If you have any questions before you decide, you can contact Abby Russell and she can provide you with some more information (contact details at the end).
If you agree to take part, we will then ask you to sign a consent form. You are free to withdraw (drop out) from the study at any time without giving a reason. If you take part in a focus group, you may request that any of your data (what you say) is destroyed up to one week after the focus group has taken place. If you take part in an interview, you may request that any of your data collected is destroyed up to three months after taking part.
What will happen to me if I take part and what will I have to do?
To have received this information sheet, you will have already told us some information about yourself. We will have a phone call conversation with you to check you have a good support network and to put a plan in place in case taking part in the study triggers any negative thoughts or memories. During this phone call, we will ask for the name and contact details of a trusted adult that we would only contact if you became distressed during the focus group or interview, and we had concerns over your safety. We would tell you before we contacted them.
Next, you will be invited to attend an in-person focus group with up to 5other young people aged 16-21, and two researchers, or an interview with one researcher if preferred. Focus groups are expected to last 90 minutes and interviews will take 45-60 minutes. The lead researcher will ask questions based on a “topic guide” (a list of questions we have), but you will also have a chance to talk about other things to do with mental health support that you think are important.
The questions will be about:
- How your school or community group talked to you about the death by suicide
- Your experiences of the support that was offered by your school or community group
- What you think adults providing support to young people after a death by suicide should know
We will not ask about details or specific experiences of self-harm or suicide in the focus groups. You will be asked not to talk about methods of harm and not to provide details of anyone you know who has harmed themselves. This is important to protect everybody’s wellbeing in the group.
A digital voice recorder will be used to capture the focus group or interview. We will start recording when everyone agrees to start, through to the end of the questions and answers. As well as this, the researchers may take notes. The recording will be securely transferred to and transcribed by Devon Transcription. Transcription is the process of turning what is said in an audio recording into written text. We will then anonymise these transcripts, which means we will change names and other details so that nothing you said in the focus group/interview could be used to identify you or others. We will only include quotes in our reports once all information that might identify you has been removed.
An example of an anonymised quote is:
Direct quote: “My mum, Judy, is a nurse prescriber in Exeter”
Direct anonymised quote: “My mum, [name], is a [healthcare professional] in [medium sized city]”
Only the project researchers at the University of Bristol, University of Exeter, University of Newcastle and the University of Birmingham will have access to these audio recordings. No one outside the project will be allowed access to the original recordings.
What are the possible disadvantages and risks involved in taking part in the project?
We understand that talking about suicide can make people uncomfortable or upset. If you find talking about any of the topics upsetting, you can take a break from the focus group or interview and talk to one of the researcher(s), or you can choose to stop taking part. The researcher(s) running the group or interview will have a list of support organisations that we will share with you, should you wish to talk to someone else once the focus group/interview has finished.
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
There are no direct benefits of taking part for you, apart from having a chance to use your experiences to help us understand what schools and other places could do better. You may enjoy taking part in the focus group or interview and having the chance to give your views. The findings from this study will hopefully improve the support provided by adults to young people. You will receive a £30 thank you voucher for taking part in a focus group or £20 for taking part in an interview (even if you decide to withdraw after the focus group/interview has started). We will also pay for your travel to and from the location.
Will me taking part in this project be kept confidential?
All researchers involved in the study are aware of, and understand, codes of practice and confidentiality and understand the concept of confidentiality and the Data Protection Act. This means they will follow a strict procedure to keep your information safe. Your personal information (name, date of birth, contact details) will be stored separately on a password protected excel spreadsheet and will be linked to the study data using a unique participant identification number.
The only time that we may not keep you taking part confidential will be if you tell us something that suggests a serious risk to any person (including yourself). If this happens, we will ask you to talk through the situation with one of our team outside the focus group. Depending on the situation, we may feel we have to tell someone else what you have told us.
Once the study is complete, our list of participants’ names, phone numbers and addresses will be destroyed as it will no longer be necessary to contact you. Study ID numbers (not names) will be used to identify your data. We will ensure that your confidentiality about participating in focus groups/interviews is protected when we write up or talk about the findings.
The focus groups and interviews are being led by the University of Exeter. The University of Exeter processes personal data to carry out research in the public interest. If you have any questions, please speak to the researchers. You can also find more information about how the University uses personal data here and what to do if you are unhappy with how your data are being handled: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/privacy/research/
What will happen to the results of the research project?
The audio recordings from the focus groups/interviews will be deleted once the study has finished (January 2026).
The anonymised transcripts will be stored in the University of Bristol Research Data Repository if you consent to this (optional). This is an online space where other researchers can apply to access the transcripts to support future research. These requests will be managed by the University of Bristol’s Research Data Service.
Results from this research may be published in scientific journals, presented in media and at conferences. We will use direct quotes from the focus groups/interviews, but any information that could lead to you being recognised will be removed, like we described above.
Who is organising and funding the research?
This study is being carried out by the University of Bristol and University of Exeter along with collaborators from several other Universities in the UK. It has been funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) School for Public Health Research.
Who has reviewed the study?
This project has been submitted for full ethical review by the Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee at the University of Bristol.
Further information and contact details
If you would like further information relating to the study, or have any questions about what you are being asked to do, please contact Dr Abby Russell: A.E.Russell@exeter.ac.uk
If you have any concerns relating to your participation in this study, please contact the Faculty of Health Science Research Ethics Committee, via the Research Governance Team: research-governance@bristol.ac.uk