Youth partnership in suicide prevention research: moving beyond the safety discourse

In this communication article, we discuss coproduction in suicide prevention research, with an emphasis on involving young people. We critically reflect on the lessons we have learned by working alongside young people, and how these lessons may be useful to other research teams.

The meaningful involvement of young people in the design, implementation and translation of mental health research has received significant attention over the last decade. For most funding bodies, the involvement of patients and the public in the planning and delivery of research is advised and, in many cases, mandatory. When it comes to suicide prevention research, however, things are slightly different in practice. Involvement of young people in suicide prevention research has often been considered a controversial, unfeasible and even risky endeavour. In our experiences of working in this field, such concerns are expressed by funders, Higher Education Health and Safety committees and practitioners. By presenting an example from our research where the involvement of young people as experts by experience was integral, we highlight key lessons learnt that could maximise the potential of youth partnership in suicide prevention research. These lessons take on particular importance in mental health research against the background of long-entrenched power differences and the silencing of service user voices. Professional knowledge, obtained through education and vocational training, has historically taken priority over experiential knowledge obtained through lived experience, in psychiatric practice and research. Although this hierarchy has widely been challenged, any account of coproduction in mental health research is positioned against that background, and the remnants of those inequitable power relationships arguably take on greater resonance in suicide prevention research and require careful consideration to ensure meaningful involvement.

We conclude that progress in suicide research cannot be fulfilled without the meaningful involvement of, and partnership with, young people with lived experience.