Community-Based Participatory Research Approach for Social Media Health Promotion and Youth Engagement

Youth Advisory Boards During the COVID-19 Pandemic: From Theory to Practice in a Global Health Setting

Youth participation in mental health and substance use research: Implementation, perspectives, and learnings of the Matilda Centre Youth Advisory Board

Background Although youth engagement has long been explored in civic and political domains, it has only recently become a focus in global health. Traditional youth advisory approaches often suffer from unbalanced power dynamics, where adolescents and young adults are involved peripherally and tokenistically. This limits the relevance and impact of health interventions targeting young people, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). There is a need for practical, context-appropriate strategies that promote equity and power-sharing in youth engagement. Methods We developed and piloted a mini-designathon model - a condensed, in-person, design-thinking-based participatory approach that integrates the principles of youth participatory action research. This model was implemented as part of a broader engagement activity co-created with the Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance (AHISA)Youth Advisory Board. Teams of youth and adult researchers collaboratively produced creative outputs around the theme of youth engagement. The structure, implementation considerations, and participant feedback were analysed. Results The mini-designathon created a low-cost opportunity for youth and adult researchers to interact as peers in a structured, time-limited setting. Teams collaboratively produced creative outputs - including poems, dances, and illustrations - centred on youth engagement. Post-event feedback suggested that the activity was enjoyable, fostered discussion across age groups, and helped highlight the value of diverse perspectives. Conclusions Mini-designathons offer a practical, scalable tool to advance meaningful youth engagement in global health research. By embedding principles of equity and co-creation into participatory design, this model helps shift power dynamics and amplify youth voices, particularly in LMIC contexts. Further application and refinement of this approach can strengthen youth-adult partnerships and improve the design of interventions that affect young people's health and wellbeing.

BackgroundAction is needed to advance youth mental health research in India, and young people could significantly contribute to this. However, youth involvement in Indian research is rare, largely due to cultural norms around how research is done and the place of young people in society. There are calls for guidance on how youth involvement could be accelerated in India in ways that respect cultural norms. Youth Advisory Boards (YABs) are one means of doing this, but resources are needed to support their practical implementation in India. Our paper aims to promote the practice of YABs by detailing our experiences, challenges and solutions around hosting a YAB as part of a large mental health project based in Bengaluru, India.Main bodyWe hosted a YAB (n = 17 members) over three years in Project SAMA (Safeguarding Adolescent Mental Health in India). SAMA was a co-production and feasibility study of a whole-school program to address youth anxiety and depression. We viewed youth perspectives and lived experience as valuable forms of knowledge, and our ambition was for the YAB to enhance the relevance, cultural sensitivity, and effectiveness of our research. A systematic approach was adopted for the recruitment, engagement, and capacity building of YAB members. The team strived to support meaningful engagement and participatory decision-making. The YAB contributed significantly to refining our intervention, improving research tools, and contextualising findings. We identified key challenges and enablers in implementing the YAB in India.ConclusionDespite the stigma attached to mental health in India, our study shows that YABs are a feasible platform to support the involvement of young people in mental health research there. Based on our learning, we set out six recommendations to support YABs in Indian mental health research. These recommendations encourage research teams to: identify diversity and representation goals for YAB constitution; delineate the opportunities and boundaries of youth influence on project delivery; allocate sufficient resources to YAB recruitment, training, activities and communication; consider how young people’s learning and accessibility needs and preferences can be ethically surfaced; and plan the monitoring and recording of the YAB’s influence as well as the delivery and evaluation of reciprocal benefits to young people directly.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40900-025-00781-5.

Youth participation in foster youth advisory boards: Perspectives of facilitators

Incorporating youth perspectives into health research can enhance quality, relevance, and ethics while also providing youth with mentorship, exposure to academic research, and professional development opportunities. This has led to a growing number of youth advisory boards (YABs). However, despite increased attention to YABs, the mentions of YABs remain low in the published research on youth and health. Furthermore, little published work has reflected on the importance of engaging with youth of color in YABs. This is critical both because of the perspectives and insight they bring to the research process and to help close the participation gap in extracurriculars among youth from racial and ethnic minoritized groups. To contribute to the literature on YABs and health equity, we offer an overview and reflection on the development and implementation of the Midwest Youth Wellness Initiative on Technology (MYWIT), a 1-week virtual, financially compensated summer YAB for youth of color aged 13 to 17 years centered on amplifying youth voices on questions related to digital technology and mental health. MYWIT youth advisors successfully codeveloped a novel research question and semistructured interview guide on the topic of navigating social media algorithms. The MYWIT process also highlighted the importance of youth compensation levels, scheduling, recruitment strategies, and overall resource constraints. We hope to encourage researchers to reflect on the value that even short duration YABs can add to the research process and how YABs can be structured to better recruit and support advisors who experience economic, institutional, and structural barriers to participation.

This paper explores a partnership between an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and a community to understand trauma given the high rates of reported violence among youth locally. The accumulative stress of living in high-stress, high-poverty environments coupled with the normative developmental tasks of adolescence is thought to place these youths at risk for negative mental and physical outcomes (Murry et al., 2011). The current research uses a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach and developmental lens to better understand environmental stressors and subsequent trauma among Black youth. Specifically, the paper describes the recruitment, engagement, and equitable partnership between a youth advisory board (YAB), university research team, and community agencies advisory board (CAB). The current work is part of a larger research study designed to explore environmental stressors, coping, and social supports for Black youth residing in low-resource urban communities. The broad objective of the research is to develop a trauma-informed community intervention to improve adolescent mental health. The initial phase of this university-community research, which entails the YAB, CAB, and university discussion groups, is outlined in this paper. Community engagement and trust are key factors described in the literature when collaborating with communities of color. These themes were reiterated by research partners in this study. The research team created coding terms to identify themes from YAB and CAB transcript data, respectively. YAB themes regarding stressors centered around financial strain, anger, and loss/violence. CAB themes regarding adolescent mental health and resources centered around trauma, trust, and sustainability. Initial steps to utilize the themes identified thus far are described. The unique advantages of an HBCU and CBPR to address mental health disparities in ethnic minority communities are also highlighted.

Clinicians, public health practitioners, and policymakers would like to understand how youth perceive health issues and how they can become advocates for health promotion in their communities. Traditional research methods can be used to capture these perceptions, but are limited in their ability to activate (excite and engage) youth to participate in health promotion activities. To pilot the use of an adapted version of photovoice as a starting point to engage youth in identifying influences on their health behaviors in a process that encourages the development of health advocacy projects. Application of qualitative and quantitative methods to a participatory research project that teaches youth the photovoice method to identify and address health promotion issues relevant to their lives. Participants included 13 students serving on a Youth Advisory Board (YAB) of the UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion working in four small groups of two to five participants. Students were from the Los Angeles, California, metropolitan area. Results were derived from photograph sorting activities, analysis of photograph narratives, and development of advocacy projects. Youth frequently discussed a variety of topics reflected in their pictures that included unhealthy food choices, inducers of stress, friends, emotions, environment, health, and positive aspects of family. The advocacy projects used social marketing strategies, focusing on unhealthy dietary practices and inducers of stress. The youths' focus on obesity-related issues have contributed to the center's success in partnering with the Los Angeles Unified School District on a new community-based participatory research (CBPR) project. Youth can engage in a process of identifying community-level health influences, leading to health promotion through advocacy. Participants focused their advocacy work on selected issues addressing the types of unhealthy food available in their communities and stress. This process appears to provide meaningful insight into the youths' perspective on what influences their health behaviors.

BackgroundOnly 3% of Latina teens meet the national physical activity (PA) guidelines, and these habits appear to persist into adulthood. Developing effective interventions to increase PA in Latina teens is necessary to prevent disease and reduce disparities. Mobile technologies may be especially appropriate for this population, but mobile health (mHealth) intervention content must be designed in collaboration with the target population. ObjectiveThis study aims to develop an mHealth PA intervention for Latina adolescents using a multistage iterative process based on the principles of human-centered design and multiple iterations of the design phase of the IDEAS (Integrate, Design, Assess, Share) framework. MethodsOn the basis of the feedback from a previous pilot study, the planned intervention included visual social media posts and text messaging, a commercial wearable tracker, and a primarily visual website. The development of the requested mHealth intervention components was accomplished through the following 2 phases: conducting focus groups with the target population and testing the usability of the final materials with a youth advisory board (YAB) comprising Latina adolescents. Participants for focus groups (N=50) were girls aged 13-18 years who could speak and read in English and who were recruited from local high schools and after-school programs serving a high proportion of Latinos. Facilitated discussions focused on experience with PA and social media apps and specific feedback on intervention material prototypes and possible names and logos. Viable products were designed based on their feedback and then tested for usability by the YAB. YAB members (n=4) were Latinas aged 13-18 years who were not regularly active and were recruited via word of mouth and selected through an application process.ResultsThe focus group discussions yielded the following findings: PA preferences included walking, running, and group fitness classes, whereas the least popular activities were running, swimming, and biking. Most participants (n=48, 96%) used some form of social media, with Instagram being the most favored. Participants preferred text messages to be sent no more than once per day, be personalized, and be positively worded. The focus group participants preferred an intervention directly targeting Latinas and social media posts that were brightly colored, included girls of all body types, and provided specific tips and information. Modified intervention materials were generally perceived favorably by the YAB members, who provided suggestions for further refinement, including the shortening of texts and the incorporation of some Spanish phrases. ConclusionsLatina teens were generally enthusiastic about an mHealth PA intervention, provided that the materials were targeted specifically to them and their preferences. Through multiple iterations of development and feedback from the target population, we gained insight into the needs of Latina teens and joined with industry partners to build a viable final product.

BackgroundMigrants are often more vulnerable to health issues compared to host populations, and particularly the women. Therefore, migrant women’s health is important in promoting health equity in society. Participation and empowerment are central concepts in health promotion and in community-based participatory research aimed at enhancing health. The aim of this study was to identify conditions for health promotion together with women migrants through a community-based participatory research approach.MethodsA community-based participatory research approach was applied in the programme Collaborative Innovations for Health Promotion in a socially disadvantaged area in Malmö, Sweden, where this study was conducted. Residents in the area were invited to participate in the research process on health promotion. Health promoters were recruited to the programme to encourage participation and a group of 21 migrant women participating in the programme were included in this study. A qualitative method was used for the data collection, namely, the story-dialogue method, where a process involving issue, reflections and actions guided the dialogues. The material was partly analysed together with the women, inspired by the second-level synthesis.ResultsTwo main health issues, mental health and long-term pain, were reflected upon during the dialogues, and two main themes were elaborated in the process of analysis: Prioritising spare time to promote mental health and Collaboration to address healthcare dissatisfaction related to long-term pain. The women shared that they wanted to learn more about the healthcare system, and how to complain about it, and they also saw the togetherness as a strategy along the way. A decision was made to start a health circle in the community to continue collaboration on health promotion.ConclusionsThe community-based participatory research approach and the story dialogues constituted an essential foundation for the empowerment process. The health circle provides a forum for further work on conditions for health promotion, as a tool to support migrant women’s health.

Harnessing star power: public figure engagement in GI health promotion in the digital age

Community-based participatory approaches to research and intervention with ethnically and racially diverse minority groups demonstrate great promise to address health disparities. Refugees as a group have experienced a disproportionate amount of trauma, experience on-going resettlement and acculturative stressors, and have been shown to be at a heightened risk for psychological distress. This article aims to extend current knowledge by examining best practices for use of community advisory boards (CABs) and youth advisory boards (YABs) to achieve mental health equity among refugee communities. In order to improve outcomes in refugee communities, public health and mental health research and interventions should aim to engage refugees as active partners on advisory boards. Employing trauma-informed care principles through cultural humility, authentic engagement and power-sharing, recognition of the stigma of mental illness and mental health care, respect for community norms and preferences, and acknowledgement of acculturative and generational differences within refugee communities epitomize best practices in establishing and maintaining meaningful community advisory boards. Inclusion of trauma-informed CABs community adult and YABs in refugee mental health research and interventions ensures that the work is relevant and meaningful to those who are intended to benefit from these efforts.

Background Social media has come under scrutiny, leading to recommendations that adolescents reduce or eliminate use. However, social media may offer benefits, particularly to marginalized groups; understanding ways in which this social context can be positive and supportive is expected to lead to more targeted recommendations for use. Methods This qualitative study investigates ways in which social media is a source of support for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth of color. Participants were recruited through youth serving organizations, community events, a Youth Advisory Board, personal and professional networks, and prior study contacts. We conducted and analyzed 43 individual interviews with 13–19-year-old TGD youth of color from the United States in 2022. 37 participants specifically referenced social media as a source of support. Transcripts were analyzed using reflexive inductive and deductive processes to identify common themes. Results Six main themes emerged: curating online spaces, finding acceptance and friends, finding similar others, representation matters, learning and getting information, and digital allyship. Results indicate that social media has the potential to be a meaningful source of support for TGD youth of color. Conclusions Public conversation and preventive interventions require a more nuanced discussion of the risks and benefits of social media, including practical recommendations for media literacy and intentional curation of online spaces to bolster support for TGD youth of color.

The local wisdom of the Batak people, known as Dalihan Na Tolu, should be able to develop its usefulness through the involvement of family members in the prevention of a disease. The consequences of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) are very serious for sufferers. This chronic disease can cause various complications in the blood vessels, hypoglycemic conditions, fear of hypoglycemia, and fear of long-term consequences can cause a decrease in the quality of life of sufferers. Data from the Padangsidimpuan City Health Office in 2020 shows that there are 2,076 people with DM in Padangsidimpuan City, with a prevalence rate of 0.94 percent, spread over 10 health centers. The purpose of this study was to prove the effect of Health Promotion - Dalihan Na Tolu in the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus at Risk Groups in the Mandailing Tribe in Padangsidimpuan City. This type of research is an experiment with one group pre-test-post-test design, on 16 samples. Data analysis with paired sample t test. Padangmatinggi Health Center with the highest DM sufferers 428 people. There has never been a cultural approach to DNT before in an effort to prevent the occurrence of type 2 DM at risk groups. Therefore, an approach to social conditions that applies locally is needed, in designing a health promotion model with a DNT cultural approach to prevent the occurrence of DM type 2 at risk groups in the Mandailing Tribe in Padangsidimpuan City. This study aims to design a health promotion model with a DNT approach in preventing Type 2 DM at risk groups in the Mandailing Tribe in Padangsidimpuan City. This research is qualitative research with a participatory action research approach consisting of five stages, namely: information, consultation, joint decision making, acting together and supporting the interests of independent communities. The number of informants is 16 people. The stages of data analysis are: data reduction, data exposure, drawing conclusions and leveraging. The pattern of implementing health promotion in an effort to prevent diabetes mellitus through the Dalihan Na Tolu approach is considered effective using the diffusion of innovation, so that there is a pattern of behavior that changes towards healthy behavior by preventing type 2 diabetes mellitus in risk groups in the Mandailing Tribe in Padangsidimpuan City. The City of Padangsidimpuan to apply the DNT approach with a participatory approach in carrying out efforts to prevent type 2 diabetes mellitus, which is carried out in an integrated and cross-sectoral collaboration with other agencies. Efforts are suggested to invite traditional leaders with Dalihan Na Tolu to be involved in using a cultural approach in health promotion as informants, but also to act as important agents of change to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the program.

This brief report describes the operational processes and participatory methods involved in setting up, managing and mediating a cross-institutional youth advisory board. Youth advisory boards in museums give young people opportunities to co-program with and for their peers, as well as to have an active and visible role inside institutions. Framed by the research project Youth in Museums, the youth advisory board Listening Lab – Youth, Culture, Participation, was co-organized and developed with five cultural institutions in Lisbon, Portugal. These included the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT), BoCA – Biennal of Contemporary Art, Casa da Cerca – Contemporary Art Centre, LU.CA – Luís de Camões Theatre and the Municipal Galleries. Young people, aged 15 to 25, were invited to participate in group roundtables to discuss specific issues related to youth arts programs. In the sessions with the youth advisory board I combined a semi-structured approach with participatory methods that activated collective processes of meaning making.