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Plain language summary We conducted a review of research on the topic of ‘risk’ in hospital based mental health care for young people aged 11-18. We wanted to include a contribution from young people alongside other stakeholders with expertise to guide the research team in decisions made setting parameters for the review. To achieve this, we held a stakeholder group meeting. We used the nominal group technique, a method designed to create a structure and a process for getting feedback from a group of people in a way that allows everyone to have an equal say. In this study, we show how our use of this approach enabled our stakeholder group to shape the focus of our study towards an area of more importance and relevance to them. Abstract Background In this paper we demonstrate how our application of the nominal group technique was used as a method of involving young people with previous experience of using inpatient mental health services in an evidence synthesis. Methods Nominal group technique is an approach to group decision-making that places weight on all participants having an equal opportunity to express a view, and to influence decisions which are made. It is an effective way to enable people who might otherwise be excluded from decision-making to contribute. Results In this study, the focus of the evidence synthesis was significantly shaped following using the nominal group technique in our stakeholder advisory group meeting. The young people present in the group invited the research group to think differently about which ‘risks’ were important, to consider how young people conceptualised risk differently, focussing on risks with long term impact and quality of life implications, rather than immediate clinical risks. Conclusions Using the nominal group technique with young people did offer a method of promoting the equality of decision making within a stakeholder advisory group to an evidence synthesis project, but care needs to be taken to invite sufficient young people to attend so they can be proportionally represented.

peer-reviewed There is a complex relationship between social media use and mental health outcomes. To explore this complexity and understand how social media influence adolescent mental health, a two-phase, explanatory sequential mixed-method study will be conducted. Firstly, the quantitative phase will involve surveying a healthy sample of 400 adolescents attending secondary schools in the UK (n=200) and Turkey (n=200). We will use the survey to investigate the moderating effect of relational orientation in a cross-sectional study, in which participants will be selected from secondary schools in England or the United Kingdom and in Turkey. Secondly, the qualitative phase will involve interviewing a mixed sample of 12 clinical and non-clinical adolescents in England or the UK. In these interviews we will explore key quantitative findings in more detail, for example, how and why adolescents use social media, and the role of social media in the development and maintenance of mental health well-being. The strengths and limitations of the study proposal have been discussed. PUBLISHED