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In recent years, health research has increasingly focused on the importance of involving those directly affected by health issues, including children and young people.
Their insights, knowledge, and experiences can play a crucial role in shaping effective health interventions. However, many researchers still face challenges in identifying the most effective ways to involve these young people in the process.
In this brief, we showcase an overview of a scoping review by Larsson and colleagues (2018), providing important insights into studies with varying levels of children and young people’s participation in health research.
Furthermore, we offer recommendations on methodological choices that support meaningful involvement with youth, based on an integrative review by Shamorav and Cummings (2017).
In the end, we highlight the EU YoPA project (2023–2027) as a case study to show how a participatory approach, such as participatory action research, can co-create social and physical environmental interventions with youth.
This brief is particularly valuable to researchers, health and public care specialists, social workers, and other professionals interested in exploring strategies for engaging children and young people in the development of health and well-being interventions.
Larsson and colleagues (2018) conducted a review of 41 studies examining the varying levels of youth participation in health interventions.
The authors classified the articles according to Shier’s (2001) Pathways to Participation Model, assigning them levels ranging from 1 to 5.
Most studies involved children and young people primarily as informants (level 3), whereas studies at levels 4 and 5 exhibited a more collaborative approach with less emphasis on expert-driven control.
What set level 5 studies apart was the high level of youth participation, where children and young people were not only informants but co-researchers, often described as designers or partners who worked collaboratively with researchers throughout the development process.
Successfully including children and young people as active participants in research requires making deliberate and appropriate methodological choices.
In a review, Shamrova and Cummings (2017) selected 45 studies on Participatory Action Research (PAR) outcomes for children, organizations, and communities for analysis.
The authors identified four methodological choices that support meaningful involvement, offering valuable insights for researchers and practitioners seeking to involve their organizations in participatory action research with children and youth.
Building trust and confidence requires pre-project training, especially for marginalized children and youth who may feel uncertain about their abilities.
This training fosters a strong connection between participants and researchers, and including younger researchers in the process can furthermore enhance trust and training outcomes.
Using age-appropriate data collection tools helps maintain participants’ interest and focus across different age groups.
Especially children find activities like body mapping, social service mapping, visioning trees, and ‘Family Album Techniques’ easy and fun ways to share information with adults.
Engaging children and young people in data analysis through group exercises, games, or workshops provides a space for them to voice their opinion about the findings and collaborate on the recommendations.
It is crucial for children and youth to present their findings to decision-makers who can address their concerns; otherwise, they may feel their efforts are undervalued.
The Youth-centred Participatory Action project (YoPA) aims to design, implement, and evaluate evidence-based co-created interventions to improve the lifestyle of adolescents (12–18) living in vulnerable urban life situations across Denmark, the Netherlands, Nigeria, and South Africa.
The YoPA project involves youth as co-researchers throughout the co-creation process. In the first phase, they lead two key activities: mapping the local community and conducting a needs assessment to identify challenges and opportunities.
Their insights from this phase guide the project as they co-design, implement, and evaluate interventions, sharing in decision-making to shape relevant, impactful outcomes.
YoPA employs a participatory, mixed-methods approach to address key evaluation questions – such as assessing the potential of interventions to drive system-wide change.
This approach combines participatory action research with a rigorous evaluation framework, integrating scientific evidence with local knowledge to generate insights that are both evidence-based and contextually relevant.
YoPA focuses on enhancing both physical and social environments, acknowledging how friends, peers, and social networks impact physical activity and well-being.
Images: Young participants sketching during a creative session in the YoPA project. The session focused on designing intervention ideas for a local outdoor space. The last image displays a design created by one of the young participants, showcasing their intervention idea for a local outdoor space.
Currently, there are no practical protocols for co-creation that help tailor evidence-based interventions to specific contexts and assess them with adolescents and stakeholders.
YoPA is, therefore, in the process of creating a toolbox of materials and training on youth-centered co-creation, along with formal guidelines and policy recommendations for researchers, public health professionals, urban planners, policymakers, and community organizations. The toolbox and guidelines are expected to be published in 2027 on the YoPA website (yopa-project.eu).
All our briefs are accessible through our website, www.playgroundresearch.org.
On the website, you’ll find a compilation of briefs that offer a clear comprehension of research findings and their implications for future research and practical application.
You can also download a printable PDF version of this brief to facilitate sharing.
