Caregivers as researchers: An evaluation of early positive approaches to support (e-pats) in partnership with family caregiver co-researchers

Introduction: E‐PAtS is a co‐produced and co‐facilitated group‐programme to support caregiver wellbeing and positive development for children with intellectual/developmental disabilities. E‐PAtS has previously been evaluated in traditional ways. This study, explored the process and benefits of training three caregivers as co‐researchers in the evaluation of E‐PAtS.  Methods: Three caregivers were invited to serve as co‐researchers and provided with training/supervision. Co‐researchers gathered baseline and follow‐up data by supporting families who attended E‐PAtS to complete questionnaires and conducted follow‐up interviews with a subset of families. All co‐researchers were later interviewed to explore their own experiences of serving in this role. Results: Findings from this study are three‐fold and cover: quantitative analysis of pre and post‐questionnaire data from 6 E‐PAtS groups; a thematic analysis of these groups and a thematic analysis of interviews with co‐researchers themselves. Findings from both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of this work will be presented. Implications: Partnering with caregivers in the evaluation of E‐PAtS helped produce rich and meaningful data that had advantages beyond traditional methods. Co‐researchers reported multiple positive experiences relating to their role. The co‐researcher model therefore has good potential to enhance both research and caregiver empowerment in the field.