COVID19: Digital Solutions for Engagement
Resources from the health and social care community on digital solutions for children and young people's engagement.
Children and young people are experiencing the impact of COVID-19, and lockdown, in many ways – from their education to staying at home with family, from the way they access health and support services to their emotional health and wellbeing. The voices of children and young people are central to recovery planning, and the RCPCH is compiling studies across the UK that focus on the experiences and insights of children and young people here.
The RCPCH &Us Team are working with both health professionals and young people (aged 14-24 years old) to look at the evidence from these studies. Young reviewers will share the views and themes that stood out to them alongside their own personal narrative and reflection on the data, giving them an opportunity as individuals or as a group to share their views and ideas – find out more here.
In May 2020, the &Us team started collecting feedback on the impact of COVID-19 from children and young people through a series of online sessions lasting between 60-90 mins across the UK.
The &Us Team worked collaboratively with trusted partner organisations via youth forums, health condition forums and youth cabinets to talk with children and young people about their experiences of COVID-19 in semi-structured group interviews. Find out more about the COVID-19 &Us project here.
There are also a number of resources available to support local research and online engagement activities including:
- Youth Link Scotland checklists for starting digital engagement with young people.
- Youth Work Support that has been set up as a COVID-19 response hub with top tips for online youth work as well as a quick guide webinar.
- Information and peer support from the NHS Engagement Practitioners Network.
- Guidance from the National Centre for Coordinating Public Engagement.
- Advice from the Information Commissioner’s Office on data protection.
- The NHS Health Research Authority and Medical Research Council’s decision tools to understand what information you will be collecting, how it will be used and how it will be managed safely.
- National Institute for Health Research resources on co-production without meeting face-to-face here.