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. 2022 Mar 12;19(6):3367.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063367.

'Shall We Send a Panda?' A Practical Guide to Engaging Schools in Research: Learning from Large-Scale Mental Health Intervention Trials

Anna Moore  1 , Emma Ashworth  2 , Carla Mason  3 , Joao Santos  3 , Rosie Mansfield  4 , Emily Stapley  1 , Jessica Deighton  1 , Neil Humphrey  3 , Nick Tait  5 , Daniel Hayes  1
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'Shall We Send a Panda?' A Practical Guide to Engaging Schools in Research: Learning from Large-Scale Mental Health Intervention Trials

Anna Moore et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The substantial time that children and young people spend in schools makes them important sites to trial and embed prevention and early intervention programmes. However, schools are complex settings, and it can be difficult to maintain school engagement in research trials; many projects experience high levels of attrition. This commentary presents learning from two large-scale, mixed-methods mental health intervention trials in English schools. The paper explores the barriers and challenges to engaging schools in promotion or early intervention research and offers detailed recommendations for other researchers.

Keywords: barriers; engagement; facilitators; research; school based; trials.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Spotlight on Eliciting Email Responses. Panda image: V-yan (Photographer) A playful happy panda in China (digital image) retrieved from https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/playful-happy-panda-china-1390386575 (accessed on 10 January 2022).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Spotlight on helping staff to facilitate pupil surveys.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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