Navigating & Growing Youth Inclusion in CBPR

Issue: Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) is an approach that theoretically values youth leadership in research and actions that positively impact community health. However, the existing literature indicates that youth rarely participate as full research partners throughout the research process, and few studies provide a rationale for how and why youth roles were negotiated and determined.

Description: A Youth Advisory Council (YAC) was formed at Running Rebels Community Organization to assess and build environmental health literacy among high risk youth. This presentation will describe the partnership development process. We will highlight challenges related to operationalization of CBPR principles regarding co-equal voice and the determination of problems of local relevance. Perspectives of a YAC member and the academic and community YAC co-facilitators will be included.

Lessons Learned: This presentation will focus on the partnership’s decision making processes regarding the selection of a YAC model and the determination of YAC member roles and responsibilities. In particular, youth and community partner staff time constraints, ethics trainings for youth audiences, and funding to support youth and community staff engagement emerged as key considerations in the realization of a YAC model.  

Recommendations: Opportunities for community capacity building through partnerships with youth and youth serving organizations are promising. However, CBPR with youth presents unique challenges. Increased transparency regarding navigation and operationalization of study alignment with CBPR principles, including the determination of youth roles, is needed to help inform and increase youth-partnered research.