About this archived opportunity

Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Disease Prevention (ODP) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Young people today face many health risks. These include poor nutrition, limited physical activity, social isolation, and exposure to unsafe physical, social, and online environments. These risks can increase mental health concerns and lead to chronic health conditions over time. Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) is an approach that includes young people as active members of the research team. Youth work alongside adult researchers to identify research questions, design studies, collect and interpret data, and share findings. By including youth perspectives, YPAR can make prevention programs more relevant, acceptable, and effective for young people. Research also shows that participating in YPAR can benefit youth researchers. It may improve their mental health, leadership skills, and interest in research careers. Despite these benefits, YPAR is not widely used in prevention research, including research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Definition of Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) For this RFI, YPAR is defined as research that engages youth as partners in all stages of the research process — from identifying the research topic to interpreting findings and sharing results. YPAR differs from studies that collect input from youth only as participants. In YPAR, youth serve as researchers. Projects typically involve youth ages 13–25. ODP and collaborating NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices invite input from youth, youth-serving organizations, schools and educational institutions, public health organizations, researchers, and others interested in YPAR and prevention research.

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