Practical guide 4: Communicating research findings to children and their families

This guide aims to provide researchers with suggestions on how to feed back research findings to children and their families, taking into account their strengths and areas where they may need more support.

We aim to conduct research that is meaningful to children and their families, that can be put into practice quickly, and also to develop tools and resources that can benefit both the children, the family and the professionals who meet the family.

Feedback on results to children and their families

• Provide feedback on the outcome if this is part of your agreement with the child and family.
• Give the opportunity to ask questions verbally or in writing via email.
• If you give verbal feedback, check that the children and their guardians have understood your information. Encourage them to comment and ask questions.
• Make sure the language of the report/article is understandable, respectful and positive.
• Follow up with a phone call if information is sent by email.
• Make sure you have the child's and/or caregiver's consent to report the findings to other parties such as companies, other researchers and professionals.

General feedback

• Consider multiple arenas for providing feedback, e.g. through newsletters, podcast, video and/or YouTube clips.
• In written reports consider using images, photographs, icons used in the study and familiar to participants.
• Consider the readability of written material for everyone in the group.

Remember that this is not an academic feedback of results but a summary of important findings for the people the research concerns most.

Consider giving the feedback to a group or to some children and families who can represent the group and who can in turn disseminate the results.

Further considerations

It may be appropriate to consider other ways to feed back the results of the study:

• Distribution of the results in schools or various community venues related to your research.
• Visual displays, including posters and leaflets.
• Participation in public events/conferences where children and their families can attend.
• Distribution via websites with downloadable PDF files presenting the results.
• Link to online resources, associations and forums.
• Ask your reference group members and/or individual children and their families for suggestions on how your research findings could be useful to them and others, taking up their ideas on appropriate ways for dissemination.

Communication and media

Discuss your communication strategy with relevant associations/ or representatives of groups, who may be able to help with materials for presentations.