Working with a youth mental health apprenticeship scheme to coproduce evidence synthesis: The youth mental health evidence synthesis hub.

Background: Meaningful involvement of young people in mental health research ensures that it is relevant and has impact. Traditional approaches to patient and public involvement often fail to provide sustainable and reciprocal engagement. We reflect on our experiences of working with an apprenticeship model as an alternative approach to involving young people in mental health research. Methods: We describe working with the Bradford Healthy Minds Apprentices, a group of 16- to 24-years-olds engaged in a year-long paid apprenticeship scheme. This partnership involved coproduction activities to develop the Youth Mental Health Evidence Synthesis Hub (Y-MHESH), including workshops, website design and short videos. We focussed on relationship-building and provided clear feedback to demonstrate how the research team had acted and adapted in response to input from the Apprentices. Results: Working with the Apprentices offered distinct benefits to both researchers and the young people, including community engagement, flexible collaboration and opportunities for future working. The Apprentices were an established and externally supported group which facilitated relationship-building. Their professional status fostered a more equal and reciprocal partnership. The Apprentices themselves gained research skills and were able to choose their level of involvement in Y-MHESH. Through regular feedback they felt their contributions were valued by the researchers, engendering trust. Challenges included adapting to group dynamics and preferred ways of working, limited availability, funding limitations, and unfamiliar payment processes. Conclusion: Partnerships with groups like the Healthy Minds Apprentices, who are paid and supported within a relevant organisation, can support reciprocal coproduction and community-linked, bottom-up research. We suggest that a similar university-based apprenticeship model could offer a way to sustainably involve young people in mental health research, as well as providing developmental opportunities for young people. While requiring institutional buy-in and flexibility, this approach to involving young people aligns closely with the university's commitment to public good.