RCPCH brochure (a/w)
14/4/10
Section six
15:14
Page 44
Practical Methods of Participation
There are many different opportunities for children and young people to participate in healthcare design and development. In this section we look at some of the common methods and consider the benefits and potential pitfalls of the various methods. The methods include questionnaires and patient satisfaction surveys, focus and advisory groups, interactive websites, and mystery shoppers.
Questionnaires and Surveys Questionnaires and surveys are often used to collect the opinions and views of service users and can be used to collect information about knowledge, beliefs and attitudes. They have a number of advantages over other methods however they can provide only limited information and there are some important pitfalls to consider. Involving young people in designing the questionnaire may be helpful. In particular their views on the design and style of the questionnaire, the length of the questionnaire and the language used can be helpful. Piloting the questionnaire will help to clarify how easy it is to complete. Think about the kind of questions you will use and what kind of data will be collected. Closed questions with yes/no answers or rating scales allow data to be aggregated whereas open questions with free text answers will provide more information. One of the pitfalls of questionnaires and surveys is that they may only be completed by a small and nonrepresentative group of service users. Think about how you will publicise the questionnaire and whether you will include both current and potential service users. Young people will want to know what the survey is for, whether it is anonymous and why it is being conducted; an introductory letter or explanation leaflet is a good idea. Think about how you will target hard to reach groups and how you might ensure that children and young people from hard to reach groups and those with literacy or communication difficulties will be able to participate in the survey.
A Satisfaction Survey of Young People Attending a Hospital Out-patient Department A questionnaire survey of the views of young people attending a university hospital children’s out-patient department regarding the quality of the services offered revealed that many young people and their parents thought the decoration in the waiting room was too young and aimed at small children whilst they felt the clinic room decoration was age appropriate. The results of the survey allowed staff to target the limited resources available at redecorating the waiting area. Local artists were asked to provide samples of artwork which might be utilised in the redecoration of the waiting area. Young people attending the out-patients as well as hospital youth room and Youth Club were invited to give their opinion on the samples before the artwork for the waiting room was commissioned. In the same survey the majority of young people believed they had received a confidential service but interestingly many of them had been seen with their parents and had not seen the doctor alone. This raised questions about what young people understood about confidentiality and publicity materials were developed to explain in more detail about the confidential nature of the service.
Sands RJ, Sehmi H, Wood DM. Are they welcome? A survey of young people and their families attending the Children and Young People’s Outpatients Department at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust 2008.
Advantage
Disadvantages
Quick
Can’t ask for further clarification
Cost effective
Poor response rate
Can be repeated
Impersonal
Large numbers of young people
Requires literacy
Cheap
Not good at exploring feelings and what people would like to change Results dependent on quality/construction of questions
44