The Spaces and People in Neighborhoods (SPIN) Study Youth Research Advisory Board: Techniques for Change

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Research for Transformation: Power and Possibilities of Community Engaged and Collaborative Research

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this work is to describe the process of engaging youth from an underserved neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in planning and executing a NIH funded research study in their neighborhood. As part of the University of Pittsburgh Spaces and People in Neighborhoods (SPIN) study, a youth research advisory board, also known as the YRAB, was created to ensure that there was a vehicle to include youth voice in a study about youth. Through this work, the goals were to increase youth’s knowledge about conducting, discussing, and disseminating research as well as build the leadership skills of youth serving on the board. This paper will focus on two methods the SPIN Study research team has used to achieve these goals.

Perspective: The creation and continued execution of the Youth Research Advisory Board is done with the knowledge that including youth in community-engaged research is essential to conducting relevant inquiry into youths’ lived experience. Youth participation in research not only improves the science but also gives them an opportunity to gain research skills that can be applied to any discipline and to practice leadership skills in a real-world environment.

Methods/Techniques: The SPIN study research team has used several methods to achieve the goals of building leadership skills and promoting knowledge about research in the members of the Youth Research Advisory Board but will focus on two of those methods in this paper. The first method that will be presented is the execution of weekly board meetings that included using agendas, electing officers, having discussions, and making decisions about aspects of the SPIN Study. In addition, the research team had board members participate in the Community Partners Research Ethics Training (CPRET) through the University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute. This was done in order to give YRAB members the ability to fully engage with the research process through tasks such as assisting with recruitment.

Data Sources: The primary methods that the SPIN Study research team has used to measure progress towards our two goals have been youth interviews as well as participant observations during YRAB meetings and other study-related activities. In addition, the research team monitored how many board members completed the CPRET workshops.

Results: By holding Board elections and encouraging elected officers to plan and lead Board meetings, the research team has observed positive changes in board members’ ability to be assertive, organized, forward-thinking, and collaborative. In addition, YRAB members consistently speak about the increase in their knowledge about research. Youth have expressed how much they enjoy analyzing data, are able to explain the importance of IRBs, and are proficient in identifying ethical and unethical research practices.

Significance: This work demonstrates how the use of two methods of engaging youth can increase their knowledge of research and develop youths’ leadership skills. In addition, it is the hope of the research team that this work will advance conversations about reciprocity in community research, especially with adolescent participants.

Authors

• Dashawna Fussell-Ware, University of Pittsburgh

• Jaime Booth, University of Pittsburgh

• Donnell Pearl, University of Pittsburgh

• Daniel Sintim, University of Pittsburgh

• The SPIN Project’s Youth Research Advisory Board, University of Pittsburgh