Rhiannon Barker

1 INTRODUCTION In this paper, we explore methodological challenges in conducting qualitative research on sensitive topics with vulnerable young people (YP). Accessing groups deemed vulnerable or whose voices are seldom heard for research purposes may require the use of methods and tools that go beyond conventional qualitative techniques.

Relatives and unpaid carers While relatives’ experiences of the health and social care system usually mirrored those of the family members they were looking after, the issue of having to navigate fragmented, disjointed systems, through which the more vulnerable patients had to be guided, came to the fore. Particularly, when dealing with the frail elderly at home, the absence of a central point of contact, which could help to wrap services around the patient, was lamented.

Moving forward The temptation to adopt practices which react to immediate crises rather than to invest in longer term support based on best evidence must be avoided. Positive results emerging from whole-school interventions22 27 28 can guide future work to strengthen school culture and point towards the particular importance of aspects such as student/teacher relationships, bullying reduction and student participation and engagement.