Peer-reviewed article

OA31 Youth-led development of an animated film to aid recruitment to a national youth advisory group for adolescent and young adult rheumatology

· 23 Apr 2022

Abstract

Abstract Background/Aims Your Rheum is a national youth advisory group for adolescent and young adult rheumatology, to ensure meaningful involvement of young people at all stages of research. It was established in 2016 as a result of nationwide research, which reported that young people with rheumatic conditions wanted to be actively involved and had clear opinions of how they wanted to be involved and the priorities for such research. Young people ageing-out of the group remains challenging in view of the national nature of the group and was further compounded by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented the face-to-face meetings of the group. The aim of this project was to develop a short animation detailing what Your Rheum is about to encourage young people to join. Methods Content for the animation was gathered at a virtual Your Rheum meeting and via an online survey sent to members. A smaller group of members (n = 4) then worked with the Your Rheum facilitator and a national animation company, More Than Minutes, to create a script, storyboard, to choose imagery, colour schemes and discuss a voiceover. The animation was subsequently revised in the light of feedback from the young people. Results Key areas of content included: who can get involved in Your Rheum and membership; the different ways the group works with researchers for example group virtual and face-to-face activities, individual online activities; examples of different projects and topics of research discussed; why it is important to involve young people in research; how to contact the Your Rheum team. It was important to ensure the animation imagery was bright, fun and highlighted diversity. Language used in the film had to be clear and simple to understand, to enable young people from the age of 11 years upwards to relate. Subtitles on the video were also an important feature. The animation was successfully launched in September 2021 - [https://youtu.be/Y8OqmEJZ9Eo] Conclusion It is important to harness the experience and opinions of young people at all stages of research including recruitment strategies and dissemination, as this can result in resources that truly resonant with this age group. Disclosure L.E. Lunt: None. M. Purvis: None. S. Gnanenthiran: None. P. Zing: None. J.E. McDonagh: Consultancies; Consultancy fees from Pfizer (2018) and CSL-Behring (2021).