Endocrine Abstracts

Individuals considering research participation are provided with information but this is usually at the end of the process of engagement. Getting young people interested in research can be difficult, even more so when competing against a demanding school and social life that many young people lead. Working with a group of young people we produced a pilot website containing video and text material about diabetes and research that was designed to be appealing and informative.

We used qualitative methods to assess the success of the material. A focus group of young people gave feedback firstly on their awareness of research and secondly on the website and video material. We chose a focus group to evaluate our research because this method has been used successfully to access hard-to-reach populations, such as young people. Five young people, three with diabetes two without diabetes aged 18–20 years volunteered to take part in the group.

All of the participants felt unaware of the wide variety of research being undertaken and the term research was clearly linked to laboratory research and this it was felt would put young people off. The material was received well by the group and had a positive impact on their perception of research and made them more open to volunteering for research. They also identified that taking part in research has an altruistic side, in helping others, but also a personal benefit in understanding their condition. Furthermore the participants felt the material had perhaps missed the relevant age group and would be more appealing to younger teenagers 13–15 years old.

Focus groups offer a useful and informative way to assess patient materials. Data from this pilot project indicate that there is limited knowledge about research and that better understanding could lead to increased participation.

Note: The affiliations of the authors given above is correct and differs from the print version owing to a technical fault.