Co-production of an online research and resource platform for improving the health of young people - The HYPE Project

Mental health conditions tend to go unrecognised and untreated in adolescence, and therefore it is crucial to improve the health and social outcomes for these individuals through age and culturally appropriate interventions. This paper aims firstly to describe the development and implementation of the HYPE project platform (a research and resource platform co-designed and co-produced with young people). The second aim is to describe the characteristics of participants who engaged with the platform and an embedded pilot online survey. A mixed methods design (including focus groups and repeated measures surveys) was used to address aims of the HYPE project. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and descriptive statistics to: ([1][1]) help improve access to health and social services, ([2][2]) guide provision of information of online resources and ([3][3]) deliver complementary community-based events/activities to promote mental health and to ultimately prevent mental health issues. Pilot and main phases of the HYPE project demonstrated the capacity and feasibility for such a platform to reach local, national, and international populations. Analyses demonstrated that the platform was particularly relevant for young females with pre-existing health difficulties. Some of the barriers to involving young people in research and help-seeking are discussed. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This paper represents independent research funded by the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. SH is part-funded by the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Centre for Society and Mental Health at King’s College London (ESRC Reference: ES/S012567/1). SH also receives funding from Impact on Urban Health and Wellcome Trust. C.W. is supported by the ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health at King’s College London (ESRC Reference: ES/S012567/1). The funders did not have a role in the study design collection, analysis or interpretation of data the writing of the manuscript or in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. These data can be accessed through the corresponding author. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The HYPE project received ethical approval from the King’s College London (KCL) Psychiatry, Nursing and Midwifery Research Ethics Committee for non-clinical research populations (Reference Number:HR-17/18-7535). I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Access to our dataset would require adherence to the HYPE and KCL data transfer and publication policies. A full list of measures included in the survey can be accessed from the corresponding author. Applications by researchers to disseminate information about their ethically approved research studies can be made via the Research Project Registration webpage on the HYPE project platform. [1]: #ref-1 [2]: #ref-2 [3]: #ref-3