Authors
Background
A lack of awareness on how to engage adolescents in research has been reported as one of the barriers to meaningful youth involvement in health research. Currently, available guidelines on youth involvement are limited in terms of the scope (e.g., focused on limited health research areas), content (e.g., include broad principles) and context (e.g., most guidelines are from high-income countries) for which the guidelines are applicable. To address this, we will develop a set of comprehensive guidelines based on consolidated evidence on youth involvement in health research. To inform these guidelines, we are first conducting an umbrella review to (1) summarise and synthesise findings from reviews on involving adolescents in health research, (2) consolidate the challenges experienced in youth involvement and the recommendations to mitigate these challenges, (3) identify best practices and (4) identify gaps and methodological weaknesses in the extant literature on involving adolescents in health research.
Method
We will include review articles exploring adolescents’ involvement in studies aiming to improve their physical or mental health. Databases to be searched include Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Scopus, Embase, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Epistemonikos and Health Systems Evidence. A grey literature search will be conducted in Web of Science, ProQuest, Google Scholar and PROSPERO, supplemented by a handsearch of the reference lists of eligible reviews, relevant journals, websites of related organisations and input from experts. Data will be analysed using narrative synthesis.
Results
This review will bring together evidence on the most effective ways of involving adolescents in health research, challenges experienced in this process and mitigation strategies, which have been recommended to address or prevent these challenges. These findings will inform the development of guidelines on involving adolescents in health research. The need for a comprehensive set of guidelines and resources on involving adolescents in health research has been highlighted by youth researchers and studies. These guidelines will facilitate researchers to collaborate with adolescents more effectively, leading to more meaningful involvement of adolescents in research.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the development of comprehensive guidelines based on the consolidation of evidence on youth involvement in health research will address existing gaps, promote meaningful collaboration, and improve the overall quality of research involving adolescents.
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