New research led by Professor Kristin Cleverley of the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, has examined the use of frameworks in co-designing research with post-secondary students, on campus mental health research.
The scoping review published in the International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy, used Trish Greenlagh’s taxonomy of engagement to determine how such frameworks have been used to engage post-secondary students in research to date. They found that while most studies used frameworks consistent with patient partner populations, there was a significant need for a guiding framework specific to working with and engaging students in research as partners in co-design.
“Co-designing is different from employing a student in the research or having students as research participants,” says Cleverley who is also the Director of Inlight Student Mental Research, and the Rossy Chair in Campus Mental Health at the University of Toronto. “Post-secondary students are unique compared to other areas of health research that have defined patient populations. A student’s role in research is more complex and often they play dual roles of both researcher and student partner.”
A main component of Cleverley’s research and that of Inlight’s, is to engage students as partners in co-designing to bridge the knowledge gap in this particular field. Co-design, Cleverley, says not only improves the research but also supports better implementation and knowledge translation of key findings, because there is a foundation of trust built between the researcher and the student population.
“It is unique to build a framework for populations engaging in this complex type of co-design. It is more than just a check box to say we engaged students in research that impacts them, we need to make sure that there is communication and transparency,” says Cleverley.
The findings from the review
Of the initial 8,700 studies found, the researchers narrowed their review down to 26 English-language studies. Many were aligned with Greenlagh’s study-focused category which is often used as a framework for patient centered research, and a few were custom designed. Yet none showed a priority setting framework that was unique to the experiences of post-secondary students.
Katherine Sainsbury, a co-author of the review, and a PhD student at the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, is also a researcher who is engaging students as partners in her doctoral research. She says that accounting for the impact of the post-secondary context should be a key consideration for researchers, and was one of the recommendations outlined by student advisors as part of this review.
“Barriers to engaging students as partners in research include navigating academic timelines, consistent student turnover, and the financial challenges that post-secondary students often face, which underscores the importance of providing appropriate compensation for this work.” says Sainsbury.
As part of the study, Sainsbury, Cleverley, and the rest of the research team engaged in what they describe as authentic co-design with student advisors from various different divisions and faculties. Together, they reached a consensus on recommendations for conducting research with post-secondary students in relation to campus mental health.
These recommendations included developing compensation policies like honorariums for students, and ensuring that the cyclical nature of post-secondary academic cycles are considered before engaging students in co-design.
With clearer recommendations for engaging students, Cleverley hopes this will mean more researchers choose to integrate and engage of students in post-secondary student mental health research.
“This is the missing piece that can support building a more robust field of research in post-secondary student mental health. I’m hopeful that our review will lead to a reduction in barriers of student co-design and to more meaningful engagement in this area of research,” says Cleverley.