Exploring Health and Wellbeing among Children aged 10-11 years in Northern Ireland: A Child Perspective

Background: The wellbeing of children in Northern Ireland (NI) has declined to the lowest level recorded since 2010 (Bond & O’Neill, 2023). This research contributes towards efforts to further understand and promote children’s wellbeing in NI, while recognising children’s right to have their voices heard on matters that impact them.

Aims and Objectives: The study aims to explore children’s perspectives of their own health and wellbeing using participatory approaches.

Research Design: Child-centred participatory research methods (draw write and tell technique, and diamond ranking) were employed to actively involve 30 children (14 boys, 16 girls) in expressing and prioritizing wellbeing factors based on their lived experiences as 10–11-year-olds. Recruited schools were from varying school types, levels of socioeconomic background, and rural/urban classifications.

Results: Children identified eleven key themes, relating to physical, emotional, material, and spiritual wellbeing categories, that both support and challenge their wellbeing. Results informed the development of the ‘Wellbeing in NI Schools’ survey for use with children of this age to explore current and emerging challenges for children’s health and wellbeing longitudinally in NI for the first time.