HEALTH BEHAVIOUR IN SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN (HBSC) IRELAND       
                                    

    HBSC Ireland and Youth Participation

What is participative research?

Participatory research approaches emerged in the 1970s and have gained growing recognition since. Increasingly health research has become a collaborative process with the participation of the people likely to be effected by any changes in service provision, policy developments and professional practice as a result of the research findings. Participative research aims to develop, apply and investigate appropriate mechanisms and approaches towards the participation of research participants in all aspects of the research process. The approach explicitly concerns power within the research cycle and the requirement for research to be both empowering and health promoting.

The adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 focused attention on youth participation in particular. In this Convention article 12 states that children and young people should have their opinions taken into account in all major decisions affecting their lives. 

Participative research within the Irish HBSC study?

Within the Irish HBSC team we have been working on the development of a range of research methodologies designed to facilitate active participation of young people in the research process. To date, young people have been actively involved in providing data through completing the HBSC questionnaires. However, with increasing recognition of the value of involving young people in various stages of the research process (Alderson, 2001; Sinclair, 2004) we have been striving to achieving this. Youth participation in the HBSC study has been employed with regard to data generation, devising research questions, data analysis, data interpretation and dissemination through various workshops.

Currently work is in planning stages with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs for the next HBSC research cycle to develop a planned series of participative research workshops with young people on all aspects of the HBSC research cycle. Work on youth participation is also a priority within HBSC International. Information for each country on youth participation in HBSC is currently being collated with a view to developing a more systematic approach in the future.

Publications:

Clarke, N., Kelly, C., Molcho, M., & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2012).  HBSC Ireland: Workshop to access young people’s opinions of the findings of the 2010 Health Behaviour of School-aged Children (HBSC) Survey. Short report. Health Promotion Research Centre, NUI Galway.

Doyle, P., Kelly, C., Cummins, G., Sixsmith, J., O’Higgins, S., Molcho, M. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2010).  Health Behaviour in School-aged Children: What do children want to know? Dublin: Department of Health and Children.

Presentations:

Clarke, N., Doyle, P., Kelly, C., Cummins, G., Sixsmith, J., O’Higgins, S., Molcho, M. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2012). What children want to know about health, happiness and emotional wellbeing. Presented at  Changing the System: Overcoming Barriers to Well-Being in Ireland. Galway, June 2012.

Clarke, N., Kelly, C., Molcho, M. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2012). Young people’s perspectives on the findings of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey 2010. Poster presentation at  16^th   Annual Health Promotion Conference: Embracing New Agendas for Health Promotion Action: Developing workforce competencies for effective practice.  Galway, June 2012.

Clarke, N., Doyle, P., Kelly, C., Cummins, G., Sixsmith, J., O’Higgins, S., Molcho, M. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2011). Health Behaviour in School-aged Children: What do children want to know? Report presented at the  Annual Scientific Meeting of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Network, Cluj-Napoaca, June 2011.

Cummins, G., Doyle, P., Kelly, C., Sixsmith, J., Molcho, M. & O’Higgins, S. (2010). Developing a youth friendly HBSC health resource in consultation with children and young people. Presented to the  32nd International School Psychology Association Annual Conference entitled: School psychology - making life better for all children, Trinity College, Dublin, July 2010.

Doyle, P., Kelly, C., Cummins, G., Sixsmith, J., Molcho, M., O’Higgins, S. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2010). In consultation with young people: the process of producing a youth friendly resource using data from HBSC Ireland. Paper presented to  Researching Young Lives: Power, Representation and the Research Process, Conference of the Institute for the Study of Knowledge in Society, Limerick, April 2010. 

Cummins, G., Kelly, C., Doyle, P., Molcho, M., Sixsmith, J. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2009). The process of producing a youth friendly resource using data from HBSC Ireland 2006. Paper presented to the  13 ^th  Annual HPRC conference: Closing the Gap in Child and Adolescent Health: the Settings Approach, Galway, June 2009.

References:

Alderson, P. (2001). Research by children. Social Research Methodology, 4, 139-153.

Sinclair, R. (2004). Participation in practice: making it meaningful, effective and sustainable. Children & Society, 18, 106-118.

Further information can be found on http://www.nuigalway.ie/health_promotion/research/participatoryresearch.html