Webinar highlights: How to reach vulnerable groups in mental health research

Diverse Group Engagement. There is a need to engage young people in different capacities, including advisory roles and school settings, requiring substantial time to build relationships and trust, primarily through youth groups and schools.

Building Connections. Marginalised youth might feel alienated and view researchers as representatives of a system that has previously failed them. Overcoming this barrier involves validating participants' experiences, using appropriate language, and ensuring they feel genuinely heard without feeling patronised.

Communication and Language. It is important to focus on relationship-building and clear communication, enabling participants to fully understand the project's aims. For instance, adjusting language can make research and interventions more accessible and engaging for adolescents.

Ethical and Practical Considerations. There are many difficulties in designing materials appropriate for young participants, such as consent forms and privacy information tailored for 10-year-olds. For instance, there are particular challenge in engaging participants aged 15–19, who were initially hesitant and difficult to involve but showed increased willingness when their peers participated. It is suggested that building trust and consistent engagement might mitigate these challenges.

Overall, the panel emphasized clear communication, trust-building, language adaptation, and inclusion of marginalised groups as critical factors in youth-focused research. Although challenges persist, effective solutions are rooted in understanding young people's unique needs and tailoring strategies accordingly.

• Targeting migrant groups: Initially, the project aimed to integrate stress management interventions for migrants in integration services (e.g., language schools). However, feedback from a societal advisory group revealed that aligning with integration services was seen as imposing pressure on migrants, making it difficult to gain their trust. As a result, the strategy was shifted to focus on broader migrant communities, including those marginalised within the group. 
• Co-facilitators: A key s trategy was using co-facilitators from migrant communities to bring a different perspective and balance power between researchers and the target groups.
• Collaboration with social organisations: The project worked closely with social organisations to engage with migrant communities, following their pace and recommendations.
• Flexibility and stigma reduction: Maria emphasised the need for flexibility in research methodology when engaging marginalised groups and highlighted the importance of avoiding stigmatisation by framing these groups as experiencing structural injustices, not as "vulnerable."

• Adapting communication: Recognising the diversity of marginalised groups, Valeria stressed the importance of adapting communication methods and language to suit the needs of different communities.

• Levels of engagement: The project engages participants at different levels, either research participants or co-researchers. This approach ensures that participants have a choice in how they engage with the research process.

• Avoiding the label of vulnerability: Valeria emphasised moving away from labelling people as "vulnerable" and instead focused on using vulnerability as a guiding principle to adapt research methods to meet the specific needs of different groups.

• Identifying and adapting materials: In MENTBEST, the team works with five vulnerable groups, focusing on adapting materials for these groups. A key challenge was translating and culturally adapting materials for different migrant communities. The team worked on translating posters and flyers into the most prevalent languages and ensuring the cultural relevance of the messages.
• Training stakeholders: Daniela mentioned that training stakeholders, such as migrants and young people, to recognise mental distress was crucial to the project. This training empowers stakeholders to better engage with and support their communities.

Changing attitudes. Engaging with individuals who may not be familiar with co-creation requires understanding their needs and allowing time for the process to unfold, which may also require additional resources.

Early involvement. Including young people as active participants early in the research process increases their investment in the project and enhances the quality of their input.

Supportive environment. Prioritising support for young people by ensuring they have the time and resources to access and engage with the study. This also involves checking in to understand their specific needs and providing the necessary support.

Peer-led spaces. Creating peer-led spaces where young people can engage in conversations about mental health, offering both informal and more structured support through paid facilitator roles within projects.

Co-creation. Allowing young people to shape and lead research sessions enhances buy-in and changes the conversation, creating a more inclusive and responsive research environment.

Inclusion. Involving young people as much as possible, ensuring their voices guide the project.

Young people typically don't seek help and prefer to handle things on their own. We believe that promoting psychological well-being services on social media, where young people are most active, is a great idea. Additionally, providing low-threshold access, such as anonymous support, could be very effective.