Young People, Health Research & Co-Production: D-CYPHR in Manchester

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) BioResource launched the D-CYPHR (DNA, Children and Young People’s Health Resource is the first study of its kind in the UK, it recruits young people aged 0-15 into health research. Young people only need to donate a sample of spit and complete a short health and lifestyle questionnaire to participate. The NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre and NIHR Manchester Clinical Research Facility support the NIHR Manchester BioResource Centre.

To encourage more participation in D-CYPHR in Greater Manchester, we brought together young people and children in creative workshops to:   

• Understand how we can effectively engage young people in Manchester

• Explore what would help them make informed decisions about taking part

• Co-create a solution to help encourage young people to find out more about  

We also involved parents, guardians, and carers to understand what would help them in supporting children and young people to participate in this research.

Our approach: 

• We worked with D-CYPHR, Vocal’s young people’s research advisory group Voice Up, Oldham-based Mahdlo Youth Zone and creative partner Salt & Sister Studio. 

• We ran two online exploratory sessions and then met face-to-face at a co-production session:
  
  - The first and second meeting focused on understanding the group’s views on health research, and what kind of recruitment materials would encourage them to take part in research.
  
  - The third meeting brought together 12 Mahdlo and Voice Up members to creatively bring their vision and ideas to life.
  
  - The designers then combined ideas and feedback to create posters and flyers about D-CYPHR.

• Parents, guardians and carers attending a family day event at Mahdlo also gave feedback which influenced the final designs.   

• Flyers have been shared through events in community settings and schools, and at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. Posters have been shared with GP practices, libraries and youth groups and with the various hospitals within Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.

What we learnt during this project:

The young people we worked with

• Felt strongly that the key message needed to be that they have the power to do something that can positively impact research and other people.

• Wanted a strong Manchester identity, including landmarks, street art, the colour yellow and similar elements.

• Wanted to see themselves in the designs through pictures and engaging quotes from peers.

• Felt that a collage design with bold bright colours would stand out and grab the audience’s attention.

• Suggested that schools would be the best channel for dissemination through to avoid being ‘drowned out’ in an already saturated social media space.  

• Shared that a QR code linking to more information was needed so people could respond quickly and find information easily.

At the family event, people really liked the eye-catching designs, straight forward language and the ease to sign up. Importantly, they wanted to see the names of the conditions the study would help understand more about. Both parents and young people felt that the NHS logo makes the research feel trustworthy and needed to be included.   

“Young people’s insights challenged assumptions about digital-first approaches, highlighting schools and trusted community spaces as more effective routes for engagement"

Lynsey Priest, BRC Strategic Projects Manager

How we made a difference

Early data demonstrates that since sharing the flyers, the NIHR BioResource Centre in Manchester has increased the number of scans of the D-CYPHR QR code, rising to the second most scanned in comparison to the 10 other recruiting centres supporting the study.

As a result of taking part in the sessions, most young people and children felt more confident about having a say in research and of encouraging others to take part in health research like D-CYPHR.  

Working in partnership with the NIHR BioResource Manchester Centre offered space for reflection and learning about youth engagement approaches. The project reinforced:

• Co-production as a key approach to creating outputs and engagement activities that connect and resonate with the people we’re trying to reach.

• Cross collaboration and creativity drive innovation. Working with a creative agency and a community-based organisation alongside Voice Up brought fresh perspectives and materials that stood out.

• Young people know what works best for them, and they must be meaningfully involved and listened to.

Learnings from this project will be used to inform how the Manchester BRC develop and deliver Children and Young People’s (CYP) research, ensuring co-production, creativity, and youth-led insights are embedded across the CYP research portfolio.

“I think they [the researchers] have a better understanding in what young people will stop and look at when joining research.”

Member of Mahdlo

Thank you to all of the young people that had their say, and to the Greater Manchester Research Engagement Network for funding this activity.