Engaging in purposeful patient and public involvement with young people living with obesity: recommendations from the ARROWS residential weekend.

Background

The ENHANCE (Evaluating the NHs engLANd Complications of Excess Weight Services for Children and Young People) study is a national evaluation of the Tier 3 complications of excess weight (CEW) services for children and young people living with obesity. Living with obesity can be linked to wider complex physical and mental health challenges, so it is crucial to incorporate the voice of those with lived experience to inform the evaluation. The value of involving patients and members of the public in research is recognised, however there are limited resources around how to meaningfully involve children and young people living with obesity in research, as well as a lack of practical guidance around delivery and impact.

Methods

This article details the novel residential approach (including classroom sessions and teambuilding exercises) implemented in the ENHANCE evaluation to better engage young people and their families in the research. The aim was to build relationships, trust and confidence between attendees, and to learn from their lived experiences to inform the development of the evaluation. After the residential, attendees completed evaluation forms and de-brief sessions.

Results

Eight young people, seven parents, one carer and six researchers attended a residential weekend in October 2024. The weekend included one overnight stay and a range of research and team building activities. Based on feedback from all attendees, the residential had a positive impact on families and helped to improve the evaluation. Feedback from families developed recommendations for designing residentials as part of study.

Conclusion

This paper reports the process of designing the residential weekend, important considerations for delivery and the impact on young people, parents and carers with lived experience and the researchers. Advice and recommendations are provided to support other researchers to develop strong, innovative and purposeful patient and public involvement in their research.