Many students may benefit from seeking professional support for psychological distress or other problems during their time at university. We aim to develop an intervention strategy that will make it easier for students to access support that is relevant to them.

We have systematically reviewed the currently-available evidence on these types of intervention strategies and we have identified some strategies which look promising. We then evaluated these strategies and found that they had not been properly developed. For example, most previous attempts to develop an intervention had not tailored the intervention to students, and very few had sought input from university students, staff, and other key stakeholders. Therefore, we want to work together with students, staff, and other relevant people to co-produce an intervention strategy that will make it easier for students to access the most appropriate types of support.

We can include people who are:

·       Currently enrolled at the University of York on a degree or diploma program;

·       An undergraduate or postgraduate (research or taught) student;

·       Are aged 18+ years.

It does not matter whether you have seriously thought about seeking help in the past – we would like to include all students so that we can learn from a range of different experiences and perspectives.

You will be invited to participate in the co-production workshops. We will run a series of approximately 3-4 workshops within the 2023/24 academic year that you and other student stakeholders will be invited to attend. Each workshops is expected to last approximately two hours, and will take place on campus at the University of York. We will work with stakeholders to run the workshops on days and times that are most accessible to the group. In the first workshop we will introduce the project to you and invite you to review the study informed consent form.

In the workshops, we will present ideas to you and ask you to provide feedback on the ideas. Examples of workshop tasks include: introductions and ice-breakers, group discussions, reviewing and providing feedback on prototype material, identifying and prioritising solutions to barriers, providing written feedback (e.g. on post-it notes or worksheets), and thinking about how to implement solutions. Feedback from each workshop will be summarised and will feed into the next workshop.

This project will be underpinned by principles of equality, accessibility, diversity, and reciprocity among all stakeholders.

During the workshops, if there are any components that you do not wish to be involved in then that is fine, you can skip any sections. If you do not take part then your rights will not be affected in any way. Your decision as to whether or not you take part in this study will not affect any aspect of your student experience, including academic assessment. Your healthcare, access to wellbeing or support services, and treatment by the University of York or any other services, will not be affected in any way.

The workshops will take up some of your time. It is possible that the workshop may bring up some difficult or upsetting experiences. If this happens, the researcher will ask if you wish to stop.

Your personal details will be stored in a secure encrypted and password-protected database, then deleted 12 months after the study is completed. Responses to the Expression of Interest form will be downloaded and removed from Google Forms; participants’ name and email address will be stored in a password-protected file on a secure university server, and will be stored separately to the demographic information. Any written feedback from the workshops will be stored in a locked filing cabinet within a locked room at the University of York. Any personal identifiable information will be removed from the data. It will not be possible to identify you in reports. Your anonymity will be maintained at all times.

Your data will remain confidential. If there are substantial concerns about your safety, or the safety of others, then we may contact relevant support services. If this rare event occurs, then we will attempt to discuss it with you first.

Please see the Privacy Statement for more information on how your data will be managed.

A researcher will contact you soon to discuss the study with you. If you do not want to take part, then you don’t need to do anything. If you do want to take part, or would like to discuss the study further with a researcher, then you will be able to let them know. You can also contact the researcher using the details in the Contacts section.

If you feel distressed or would like support then we advise you to seek support using the resources below. A full list of support resources can be found on the University of York website here:

www.york.ac.uk/education/student-wellbeing

If you are in a crisis now then call 999 emergency services.

Open Door is a team of professionals providing support to students experiencing psychological or mental health problems and can be contacted on +44 (0)1904 322140 or opendoor@york.ac.uk.

Samaritans are available round the clock to provide confidential support to anyone who needs it by calling 116 123

You can discuss concerns with your doctor who can support health or wellbeing problems. You can search the NHS website for GP surgeries in your area: www.nhs.uk

The University of York is the sponsor for this study based in the United Kingdom. We will be using information from you in order to undertake this study and will act as the data controller for this study. This means that we are responsible for looking after your information and using it properly. The University of York will keep identifiable information about you for 12 months after the study has finished.

The lawful basis of processing this information is that it is in public interest. Your rights to access, change or move your information are limited, as we need to manage your information in specific ways in order for the research to be reliable and accurate. If you withdraw from the study, we will keep the information about you that we have already obtained. To safeguard your rights, we will use the minimum personally-identifiable information possible.

You can find out more about how we use your information by contacting Paul Heron (paul.heron@york.ac.uk).

The University of York will collect information from you for this research study in accordance with our instructions.

The University of York will use your name, and contact details to contact you about the research study and make sure that relevant information about the study is recorded to oversee the quality of the study. The only people in The University of York who will have access to information that identifies you will be people who need to contact you regarding this study or audit the data collection process. The people who analyse the information will not be able to identify you and will not be able to find out your name or contact details.