Peer Helpers in Hungary: A Qualitative Analysis

Organisational space for partnership and sustainability: lessons from the implementation of the National Dementia Strategy for England

National policy initiatives are faced with challenges in their partnership development and sustainability. The National Dementia Strategy for England recommended Dementia Adviser (DA) and Peer Support Network (PSN) services and 40 demonstration sites were established. In this paper, we report on the national evaluation of these demonstration sites, with specific reference to aspects of organisational development. The research used a mixed-methods design with three main strands: (i) activity and outcome monitoring; (ii) organisational surveys and collaborative discussion; (iii) in-depth case studies in eight of the 40 sites. This paper focuses primarily on three rounds of organisational surveys distributed to all 40 demonstration sites over a period of 21 months and interviews in the case studies. Data identify the significance of infrastructure within immediate services as well as the position of services within the external infrastructure of the wider health and social care landscape. Partnership - both internally and externally - was key to establishing and sustaining services that flourished. When working well, DAs and PSNs acted as a link between services and people with dementia at the same time as filling gaps in existing support, providing information, advice and interpersonal support that was tailored to individual needs and circumstances. In conclusion, to achieve the full potential and sustainability of services requires them to be in an organisational space that allows them to work in partnership and collaboration with other services, and that values their distinct knowledge of their communities.

Finding a Voice

This article uses a Positive Youth Development framework to explore the experiences of six experiential youth coresearchers (YCs) in the Youth Injection Prevention (YIP) participatory research project, and the parallel track process of empowerment and capacity building that developed. The YIP project was conducted in Metro Vancouver at the BC Centre for Disease Control and community organizations serving street-involved youth. A process evaluation was conducted to explore themes in the YCs experience in the project, as well as process strengths and challenges. Semistructured interviews with the YCs, researcher field notes, and team meeting and debrief session minutes were analyzed. The YIP project appears to have exerted a positive influence on the YCs. Positive self-identities, sense of purpose, reconceptualization of intellectual ability, new knowledge and skills, supportive relationships, finding a voice, and social and self-awareness were among the positive impacts. Process strengths included team-building activities, team check-in and checkout sessions, and professional networking opportunities. Process challenges included the time required to help YCs overcome personal barriers to participation. The YIP project demonstrates that participatory research with street-involved youth is a viable research option that contributes to positive youth development and empowerment.

Climbing the "ladder of participation": engaging experiential youth in a participatory research project

OBJECTIVES

Street-involved youth are at high risk for acquiring HIV and hepatitis C infection due to potential engagement in high-risk behaviours, including injection drug use. The Youth Injection Prevention (YIP) Project sought to identify factors that prevented street-involved youth from moving into injection drug use in Vancouver, BC. Our project used a participatory research orientation to study these factors. This paper describes the level of participation observed among the street-involved youth taking part in our project.

METHODS

The YIP project employed street-involved youth as co-researchers. To assess the level of participation among the co-researchers, we applied Roger Hart's "Ladder of Youth Participation". Each advancing rung in the ladder represents a higher level of participation. We compared the youth's involvement in the project to the rungs in Roger Hart's tool.

RESULTS

Throughout the duration of the project, the youth's participation increased. Initially the youth had low levels of participation as they were hired based on their life experiences and initially consulted and informed. Over the course of the project, team- and skill-building activities took place. This helped the project environment evolve into a safe space where youth felt comfortable to engage at the highest levels of participation.

CONCLUSION

The YIP Project was successful in being a highly participatory research project. In a safe and open environment, the youth felt comfortable to question and take on initiatives that went beyond the academic researcher's initial expectations. This project highlights the success of engaging street-involved youth in participatory research.