What is the lived experience of mature students at UWE Bristol?

This report describes research carried out by the Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) team at UWE Bristol to understand the lived experience of mature students, aged 21 or over on entry to their Undergraduate degree. The research sought to understand whether mature students at UWE Bristol faced the same barriers as those found in the literature by exploring the following questions:1.What is the lived experience of mature Undergraduate students at UWE Bristol? 2.How well does the University and Students’ Union support mature students?3.How do students feel this support could be improved?This study investigated the experience of mature students through a series of focus groups. Participants were a self-selecting sample and were initially asked to complete a sign-up survey to register their interest and select their availability for a focus group. In total, 64 students completed the sign-up survey and 8 focus group sessions were scheduled, to allow for participant drop out. In February and March 2020 6 focus groups took place with a total of 17 participants. The final two focus groups were cancelled due to the closure of the university campus so an online survey was sent to the remaining participants containing similar questions. The survey had 22 responses, bringing the total number of participants to 39.The findings showed that participants had experienced challenges in adjusting to study that typically wouldn’t be faced by those coming to university straight from school or college. Mature students who had been out of education for a long time often felt they lacked study skills and found it difficult adjusting to student life. Many struggled to balance other commitments, notably childcare and paid work, with study. As a result, mature students were often less able to engage socially with their coursemates and take up extracurricular opportunities. Differences in outlook between mature and young students was another barrier to integration between the two groups. Participants’ experiences of support varied. Several commented that they found it difficult to locate support when they needed it and felt that the range of services available could be better promoted. However, once they had accessed the support, mature students’ experience of it was usually positive and they felt generally well supported by the university. As well as smaller improvements to existing services, the focus groups identified three key areas where additional support could be provided:•Tailored induction activities and social activities for mature students•Tailored accommodation support for mature students•Tailored careers and placement support for mature studentsRecommendationsA total of 8 recommendations have come from this research:Pre-enrolment 1.Increase the use of mature students in imagery and use student comms to highlight the proportion of UWE students who start their studies later in life2.University and SU to review access to childcare for student parents and ensure the options are clearly communicatedInduction3.Tailored induction sessions for mature students and those who have spent time out of education4.Increase the number of freshers’ events aimed at mature studentsStudent experience 5.Review accommodation support offer for mature students and ways to integrate students living in private-rented6.SU to review and promote mature student society7.Clearer communication of all support options available to mature students at UWE 8.Tailored careers support for mature students who may be studying to pursue a career change and those wishing to access internships/placement

“It's not one size fits all”; the use of videoconferencing for delivering therapy in a Specialist Paediatric Chronic Fatigue Service

Background: There are few specialist paediatric Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME) services in the UK. Therefore, the distance some families have to travel to reach these services can be a barrier to accessing evidence-based treatment. Videoconferencing technology such as Skype provides a means of delivering sessions remotely. This study aimed to explore the views of children and young people, their parents, and healthcare professionals of treatment delivered by videoconferencing in a specialist paediatric CFS/ME team. Method: To explore the experiences of the participants, a qualitative design was selected. Twelve young people (age 9–18), and 6 parents were interviewed about their experience of treatment sessions delivered via videoconferencing within a specialist CFS/ME service. A focus group explored the views of healthcare professionals (N = 9) from the service. Thematic analysis was used. Results: Three themes were identified from the data: “Challenges and concerns”, “Benefits” and “Treatment provision”. Challenges and concerns that participants identified were; difficulties experienced with technology; a sense of a part of communication being lost with virtual connections; privacy issues with communicating online and feeling anxious on a screen. Participants felt that benefits of videoconferencing were; improving access to the chronic fatigue service; convenience and flexibility of treatment provision; a sense of being more open online and being in the comfort of their own home. In terms of treatment provision participants talked about videoconferencing as a part of a hierarchy of communication; the function of videoconferencing within the context of the chronic fatigue service; additional preparation needed to utilise videoconferencing and an assumption that videoconferencing is “part of young people's lives”. Conclusions: Although the experience of sessions provided by videoconferencing was different to sessions attended in person, participants tended to be positive about videoconferencing as an alternative means of accessing treatment, despite some barriers. Videoconferencing could be an additional option within an individualised care plan, but should not be an alternative to face to face support. Keywords: Chronic fatigue syndrome, Myalgic encephalomyelitis, Skype, Video-conferencing, Adolescent

Rapid systematic review: the impact of social isolation and loneliness on the mental health of children and adolescents in the context of COVID-19

Objective: Disease containment of COVID-19 has necessitated widespread social isolation. We aimed to establish what is known about how loneliness and disease containment measures impact on the mental health in children and adolescents. Method: For this rapid review, we searched MEDLINE, PSYCHINFO, and Web of Science for articles published between 01/01/1946 and 03/29/2020. 20% of articles were double screened using pre-defined criteria and 20% of data was double extracted for quality assurance. Results: 83 articles (80 studies) met inclusion criteria. Of these, 63 studies reported on the impact of social isolation and loneliness on the mental health of previously healthy children and adolescents (n=51,576; mean age 15.3) 61 studies were observational; 18 were longitudinal and 43 cross sectional studies assessing self-reported loneliness in healthy children and adolescents. One of these studies was a retrospective investigation after a pandemic. Two studies evaluated interventions. Studies had a high risk of bias although longitudinal studies were of better methodological quality. Social isolation and loneliness increased the risk of depression, and possibly anxiety at the time loneliness was measured and between 0.25 to 9 years later. Duration of loneliness was more strongly correlated with mental health symptoms than intensity of loneliness. Conclusions: Children and adolescents are probably more likely to experience high rates of depression and probably anxiety during and after enforced isolation ends. This may increase as enforced isolation continues. Clinical services should offer preventative support and early intervention where possible and be prepared for an increase in mental health problems

Loneliness and mental health in children and adolescents with pre-existing mental health problems: A rapid systematic review

Objectives: Periods of social isolation are associated with loneliness in children and young people, and loneliness is associated with poor mental and physical health. Children and young people with pre-existing mental health difficulties may be prone to loneliness. Containment of COVID-19 has necessitated widespread social isolation, with unprecedented school closures and restrictions imposed on social interactions. This rapid review aimed to establish what is known about the relationship between loneliness and mental health problems in children and young people with pre-existing mental health problems.   Methods: We sought to identify all primary research that examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between loneliness/perceived social isolation and mental health in children and young people with pre-existing mental health problems. We also aimed to identify effective interventions that reduce the adverse impact of loneliness. A rapid systematic search was conducted using MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Results: Of 4,531 papers screened, 15 included children and young people with pre-existing mental health conditions. These 15 studies included 1,536 children and young people aged between 6 and 23 years with social phobia, anxiety and/or depression, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Loneliness was associated with anxiety and depression both cross-sectionally and prospectively in children and young people with mental health problems and neurodevelopmental conditions. We found preliminary evidence that psychological treatments can help to reduce feelings of loneliness in this population.    Conclusions: Loneliness is associated with depression and anxiety in children and young people with pre-existing mental health conditions, and this relationship may be bidirectional. Existing interventions to address loneliness and/or mental health difficulties in other contexts may be applied to this population, although they may need adaptation and testing in younger children and adolescents.   Practitioner points: Loneliness is common in children and young people, and during periods of enforced social isolation such as during COVID-19, children and young people report high levels of loneliness (or increased rates of loneliness). The review showed that loneliness is associated, both cross-sectionally and prospectively, in children and young people with mental health problems and also in children and young people with neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism spectrum disorder. Thus, loneliness is a possible risk factor of which mental health providers should be aware. Maintaining social contact both by direct and by indirect means, especially through the Internet, could be important in mitigating loneliness. Interventions to address loneliness should be further developed and tested to help children and young people with pre-existing mental health problems who are lonely by preventing exacerbation of their mental health difficulties, in particular anxiety and depression