Youth Engagement and Community-Based Participatory Research: The Bipolar Youth Action Project

Elliott, Nusha Balram; Canas, Eugenia; Paquette, Andrea; Johansen, Kelsey; Moore, C. L.; Cundall, Alan; Kolida, Natasha; Michalak, Erin E.

doi:10.4135/9781473998957

Cited by 5 publications

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“…Managing a remote, national‐level role of intermittent activity can be challenging to youth given the many demands of (and sometimes multiple jobs required to sustain) living. Though scholarly writings in YE often mention challenges relating youth schedules and competing life priorities, direct guidance that addresses the contextual needs of both youth and national‐level NPOs is scarce. W2A's own learning on how to manage its pan‐Canadian network is a best practice that merits sharing with its own YAC and with other organizations of national scope.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What makes for effective, sustainable youth engagement in knowledge mobilization? A perspective for health services

Canas

Lachance

Phipps

et al. 2019

Health Expectations

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BackgroundYoung people who seek mental health treatment often also seek the services of non‐profit organizations to support their well‐being. Wisdom2Action (W2A) is a Canadian knowledge mobilization network that focuses on improving the mental health and well‐being of children and youth in challenging contexts by increasing the use of evaluation, evidence and engagement in the youth‐serving sector. Since 2013, W2A has engaged youth advisors (YAs) to provide input to W2A's Board, lead their own projects and co‐design W2A activities.ObjectiveIn fall 2017, the YAs, as well as adult Board members and W2A staff, collaborated in a participatory evaluation to better understand the experiences and impacts of youth engagement. This article describes insights derived through this process.Design and participantsBoard, YAs and staff members participated in a reflective approach to informing, analysing and sharing the findings from this process. Individual interviews and review of documents, as well as iterative cycles of group analysis and synthesis, were conducted.ResultsBoth YAC members and W2A benefit from YAs’ leadership and engagement. The YAs position themselves as members of the youth‐serving sector, not merely recipients of its services; as such, their professional development aligns with the mandates of W2A and merits further investment, despite challenges in impact measurement.ConclusionThis article identifies challenges and facilitators of implementing an effective and sustainable youth advisory council model of engagement in the context of a pan‐Canadian network. The mutual gains and areas of growth for youth, adults and the organization described can inform health services, as well as funders and advocates for youth well‐being.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What makes for effective, sustainable youth engagement in knowledge mobilization? A perspective for health services

Canas

Lachance

Phipps

et al. 2019

Health Expectations

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“…Research examining engagement has included projects with young adults with psychiatric disabilities 19,20 and with youth who are trained as research assistants 14,21 . Evaluation of youth engagement initiatives has focused on individual outcomes for youth, such as increases in capacity, self‐efficacy and professional skills 15,22 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Our roles are not at ease: The work of engaging a youth advisory council in a mental health services delivery organization

Canas

Wathen

Berman

et al. 2021

Health Expectations

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Objectives There is growing policy impetus for including youth voices in health services research and health system reform. This article examines the perspectives of professionals in a mental healthcare organization charged with engaging young people as advisors in service transformation. Methods An institutional ethnography of a youth mental health services organization in Ontario, Canada, was conducted. Fieldwork consisted of twelve months of observation of meetings, interviews with youth advisors and adult service providers, with subsequent text analysis of engagement training and policy materials. The present article reports data from six adult professionals and related field observations. Results Service providers’ efforts to engage youth were observed in three areas: a) supporting youth's development as advisors, b) retaining and deepening youth participation while waiting for organizational change and c) embedding relationships between youth and adults at various levels within the system of care. This work denotes existing tensions between the values and ideals of youth engagement and the everyday demands of services delivery. Conclusion In this setting, a fundamental dimension of this work consisted of negotiating tensions between the policy enthusiasm for engagement and its realization in a health services context. In describing these contextual challenges, we outline implications for consideration by other youth mental health services. Engagement efforts that are authentic and sustained require resources and flexibility, and leadership commitment to instil service users’ perspectives throughout multiple levels within the organization.

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“…As noted elsewhere [ 33 ], Youth Action Group members expressed that conveying the forum findings in peer-reviewed papers was a priority for them. One member stated an interest in becoming more heavily involved in data collection and analysis.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Youth with bipolar disorder were integral to each stage of the Bipolar Youth Action Project, as funding coapplicants, peer researchers, research participants, and knowledge brokers. Previous Bipolar Youth Action Project publications have described the project’s specific methods [ 33 ] and provided a qualitative analysis of youth preferences for knowledge translation methods for online health information [ 34 ]. Here, we take a deeper dive into our secondary aim, which is to describe and share reflections on the community-based participatory research approaches we undertook in the Bipolar Youth Action Project.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A Youth Action Group member transcribed the focus group audio recordings verbatim and ensured all identifying information was removed. A coding framework was collaboratively developed with the Youth Action Group member and two academic researchers; the Youth Action Group member also participated in the thematic analysis (findings reported elsewhere) [ 33 ]. The same member created a summary of findings to present to the rest of the group during Forum II planning.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Engaging Youth in the Bipolar Youth Action Project: Community-Based Participatory Research

et al. 2020

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Background We describe the methodological dimensions of community-based participatory research through a description of study design, youth engagement, and methods/processes in the cocreation of knowledge within a Canadian study, the Bipolar Youth Action Project. This collaborative partnership—carried out by a team composed of academic, community, and youth partners—was designed to investigate self-management and wellness strategies for young adults living with bipolar disorder. Objective The aim is to describe the opportunities and challenges of this collaboration and to reflect upon the process of involving youth with bipolar disorder in health research that concerns them, and share lessons learned. Methods The project was conducted in multiple phases over 2 years: (1) grant-writing, with youth contributing to the process; (2) recruitment, in which 12 youth were selected and trained to help shape and conduct two research forums; (3) the first research forum, where more youth were consulted about the strategies they apply to stay well (self-management strategies); (4) data analysis of Forum I findings; (5) research Forum II, which consulted youth with bipolar disorder about knowledge translation of Forum I findings; and (6) data analysis of Forum II findings. Youth peer researchers with bipolar disorder were involved in a significant capacity at every stage in the process. Results Of the initial 12 youth peer researchers, 7 remained on the project from the recruitment phase until the project ended. They collaborated in the creation of two youth research forums that consulted youth with bipolar disorder on their self-management strategies. Conclusions This article shares what was learned from the process of partnering with youth with bipolar disorder in a community-based participatory research study.

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Youth Engagement and Community-Based Participatory Research: The Bipolar Youth Action Project

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

What makes for effective, sustainable youth engagement in knowledge mobilization? A perspective for health services

What makes for effective, sustainable youth engagement in knowledge mobilization? A perspective for health services

Our roles are not at ease: The work of engaging a youth advisory council in a mental health services delivery organization

Engaging Youth in the Bipolar Youth Action Project: Community-Based Participatory Research

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