Is headspace making a difference to young people’s lives?

Appendix C
different client groups. Participants were recruited through two major avenues. Firstly, parent/carers
who took part in the online survey and who lived in one of the fieldwork sites were asked at the end
of the survey if they wanted to participate in a focus group. If respondents to the survey indicated
that they were happy to participate, they were contacted by a researcher and invited to join the focus
group in their area. Some participants were also recruited through headspace centres. Centres at
the seven identified sites were sent flyers advertising the interviews and parents either contacted
evaluators directly if they wanted to participate, or consented to having their contact details forwarded
to evaluators.
Five focus group interviews were conducted. Focus groups were not conducted in two sites identified
as suitable for fieldwork as we were unable to recruit participants from one site, and at another site,
no one turned up on the scheduled evening. We conducted telephone interviews with 3 additional
parents, and so a total of 38 parents/carers took part in interviews.
All interviews were recorded, transcribed in full and analysed using a thematic approach. This
entailed identifying, analysing and reporting themes within the data. The themes within the data were
constructed using a coding framework which was developed following analysis of survey data and
modified following the first focus group interview. All data was double coded independently by two
researchers to ensure consistency in the analysis and discussion of interpretation.
Limitations of the study
Due to the recruitment methods used for both the online survey and the focus groups, the
respondents should not be considered a representative sample of parents and carers of young
people with mental health concerns or of headspace service users. Rather, the aim of the study
was to inform evaluation findings related to process issues such as young people’s access and
engagement with headspace; and ways to enhance parent/carers’ interaction with centre services.
It is likely that a number of parents and carers participated in the study because they had had a
particularly negative or positive experience with headspace and/or other mental health service
providers and they wanted to have their say. Nevertheless, information provided about ‘extreme
cases’ is valuable as stories of best and poor practice can offer great insight into how service can be
improved to benefit all.
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