Background: The active involvement of patients and the public in the design and conduct of research (Patient and Public Involvement) is important to add relevance and context. There are particular considerations for involving children and young people in research in potentially sensitive and emotional subject areas such as palliative care.
Aim: To evaluate the experiences of young people of Patient and Public Involvement for a paediatric palliative care research study.
Design: Anonymous written feedback was collected from group members about their experiences of Patient and Public Involvement in a paediatric palliative care research study. An inductive thematic analysis of the feedback was conducted using NVivo.
Setting / participants: Young people aged 12-22 years who were members of existing advisory groups at a children's hospital, hospice and the clinical research network in the West Midlands, UK.
Results: Feedback was provided by 30 young people at three meetings, held between December 2016 and February 2017. Three themes emerged: (1) Involvement: Young people have a desire to be involved in palliative care research, and recognise the importance of the subject area.(2) Impact: Researchers should demonstrate the impact of the involvement work on the research, by regularly providing feedback. (3) Learning: Opportunities to learn both about the topic and about research more widely were valued.
Conclusions: Young people want to be involved in palliative care research, and recognise its importance. A continuous relationship with the researcher throughout the study, with clear demonstration of the impact that their input has on the research plans, are important.
Keywords: Palliative care; Patient and Public Involvement; children; evaluation; young people.