TRIUMPH Network Newsletter
May 2022

TRIUMPH Co-video

In a new video published by the Mental Health Research Matters team, TRIUMPH lead Dr Jo Inchley and Dr Christina McMellon talk about how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected young people’s mental health, and their work looking at how children’s rights during a pandemic. 

CESAME project report

Findings from the TRIUMPH-funded Culturally Engaged and Sensitive Approaches to Mental health Education (CESAME) project have now been published. The report outlines key implications of the research for schools, including allowing longer transition periods  for pupils starting secondary school and promotion of ethnic and cultural inclusion in the curriculum.

Online services and interventions for care-experienced young people

A new report has been published based on the TRIUMPH-funded study led by Cardiff University, The Fostering Network, and Voices from Care Cymru that examined the strengths and challenges of online services and interventions to support the mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced children and young people. The study found that online mental health and wellbeing services and interventions provided some benefits for care-experienced children and young people, including accessibility, privacy and being able to engage or disengage remotely without the pressures of face-to-face interactions. However, for some young people there were challenges to engaging with services and interventions online, including issues with accessibility, a lack of privacy and the format of online interactions. 

The study included a young person as a co-investigator and you can read their reflections on the role and value of a peer researcher in this blog: We speak the same language.

Take part in research

A team led by Dr Rhys Bevan-Jones at Cardiff University and Prof Sharon Simpson at the University of Glasgow are interested in how young people might use MoodHwb compared to a digital information pack. They are looking for young people aged 13-19 years who are experiencing low mood or other depressive symptoms to take part in the trial. Their parents/carers can also take part. They will be asked to complete an online questionnaire at the start, and then again after two months, and some will be asked whether they would like to meet (e.g. by video) to discuss the programme. 

If you are a young person, or work with young people who might be eligible and want to find out more about the study, please visit the website.

INSIGHT Study

Researchers from The University of Manchester are looking to speak with young women in England aged 16 to 18 about their views on mental health among teenage girls. Specifically, we are interested in your views on what might be causing low mood and anxiety for teenage girls and what can be done to help. We want to hear from people from all different backgrounds and walks of life.

We are setting up group discussions where young women can come together on Zoom to share their ideas with researchers. This would be a one-off session out of school hours in May/June 2022. Individuals who join a session would be compensated with a voucher and a certificate. If you are interested in joining one of these group discussions, go to the website to find out more and let us know you'd like to be involved. We have limited spaces, but we will get in touch with you to let you know about next steps or other opportunities.

Funding opportunities

Health Foundation: Emotional Support for Young People

This new programme offers funding for research into young people’s experience of emotional support and how this forms part of the wider determinants of health. Up to £200,000 is available for project lasting 12-18 months. Priority areas are understanding the role played by family relationships, and hence the emotional support experienced by young people, as part of the wider determinants of health; and understanding the specific impact of family members’ working lives on the emotional support that young people experience from their families. Deadline: 6 June 2022

Nuffield Foundation: Research Development and Analysis Fund

Funding to support projects that improve the design and operation of social policy and practice across three core domains of Education, Welfare and Justice. Up to £750,000 is available to successful project teams. Deadline: September 2022 

NIHR School for Public Health Research, Annual Scientific Meeting

23-24 June 2022

Celebrating 10 years of the NIHR School for Public Health Research, this meeting will include keynote speakers, short talks and presentations to showcase the work of the School since its inception in 2012, as well as looking ahead to the next five years and the school’s new research programmes.

Sources and Types of Social Supports and Their Association with Mental Health Symptoms and Life Satisfaction among Young Adults with a History of Out-of-Home Care. R. Evans, C. C. Katz, A. Fulginiti, H. Taussig. Children

Loneliness and personal well-being in young people: Moderating effects of individual, interpersonal, and community factors. C. Goodfellow, D. Hardoon, J. Inchley, A.H. Leyland, P. Qualter, S.A. Simpson, E. Long. Journal of Adolescence