SORA

Advancing, promoting and sharing knowledge of health through excellence in teaching, clinical practice and research into the prevention and treatment of illness

Challenges to undertaking randomised trials with looked after children in social care settings.

Mezey, G; Robinson, F; Campbell, R; Gillard, S; Macdonald, G; Meyer, D; Bonell, C; White, S (2015) Challenges to undertaking randomised trials with looked after children in social care settings. Trials, 16. p. 206. ISSN 1745-6215 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-015-0708-z
SGUL Authors: Gillard, Steven George Mezey, Gillian Clare White, Sarah Jane Robinson, Fiona Rachael

[img]
Preview
PDF Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are widely viewed as the gold standard for assessing effectiveness in health research; however many researchers and practitioners believe that RCTs are inappropriate and un-doable in social care settings, particularly in relation to looked after children. The aim of this article is to describe the challenges faced in conducting a pilot study and phase II RCT of a peer mentoring intervention to reduce teenage pregnancy in looked after children in a social care setting. METHODS: Interviews were undertaken with social care professionals and looked after children, and a survey conducted with looked after children, to establish the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and research design. RESULTS: Barriers to recruitment and in managing the intervention were identified, including social workers acting as informal gatekeepers; social workers concerns and misconceptions about the recruitment criteria and the need for and purpose of randomisation; resource limitations, which made it difficult to prioritise research over other demands on their time and difficulties in engaging and retaining looked after children in the study. CONCLUSIONS: The relative absence of a research infrastructure and culture in social care and the lack of research support funding available for social care agencies, compared to health organisations, has implications for increasing evidence-based practice in social care settings, particularly in this very vulnerable group of young people.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: © Mezey et al. 2015 This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Keywords: Child, Child Care, Humans, Pilot Projects, Social Work, Humans, Pilot Projects, Social Work, Child, Child Care, Trials, Local authorities, Looked after children, General & Internal Medicine, 1102 Cardiovascular Medicine And Haematology, 1103 Clinical Sciences
SGUL Research Institute / Research Centre: Academic Structure > Population Health Research Institute (INPH)
Journal or Publication Title: Trials
ISSN: 1745-6215
Language: eng
Dates:
DateEvent
7 May 2015Published
7 April 2015Accepted
Publisher License: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0
Projects:
Project IDFunderFunder ID
UNSPECIFIEDBritish Heart FoundationUNSPECIFIED
UNSPECIFIEDMedical Research CouncilUNSPECIFIED
MR/K023233/1Medical Research CouncilUNSPECIFIED
UNSPECIFIEDCancer Research UKUNSPECIFIED
MR/K025643/1Medical Research CouncilUNSPECIFIED
WT087640MAWellcome TrustUNSPECIFIED
PubMed ID: 25947202
Web of Science ID: WOS:000357077600001
Go to PubMed abstract
URI: https://openaccess.sgul.ac.uk/id/eprint/107904
Publisher's version: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-015-0708-z

Actions (login required)

Edit Item Edit Item