Prinicpal Investigator: Professor Mary Barker

Team: Kathryn Woods-Townsend, University of Southampton, James Toop, Bite Back 2030, Matthew Ryan, University of Southampton, Joanna Sofaer, University of Southampton, Pathik Pathak, University of Southampton

Start Date: 1 April 2023

End Date: 30 September 2024

Background

Calls by young people for increased involvement in decisions about their health and futures are echoed by WHO and UNICEF. These reflect threats to their health from inequalities and climate change, exacerbated by COVID-19. To be “architects of their own future” and have decision-making power, young people need training and opportunities to build confidence, and structures and processes that allow them to be involved in decision making.

Aims

We aim to explore how best to engage and maintain engagement of young people in these activities with a view to improving their health and well-being and that of their communities Our specific objectives are to:

1. develop and test a training course for young people in skills to support participatory action research into health and well-being;
   

2. test the effectiveness of arts-based approaches in engaging young people in health improvement;
   

3. understand how to create a reliable, scalable and sustainable model for effective youth activism;
   

4. evaluate democratic innovations to engage young people in decision making processes to influence health policy.

   
   

What did we find out?

Through our project we found that young people can meaningfully participate in decision making on topics that are important to them. During the year young people were engaged in two separate ways:

Firstly, BiteBack 2030’s youth advocacy programme was analysed and essential components of its success extracted. Those factors included establishing open two-way channels for communication, Working to create an environment where young people’s and staff views are equally valued, Supporting staff to develop excellent facilitation skills, Investing in young people’s skills, Campaigning on issues that young people feel are important and current and Reviewing success and challenges of each campaigns and adapt activities in response.

Secondly, young people were successfully trained in research skills, advocacy and democracy during a 12-week Young Researcher Training Programme. The training programme allowed young people to investigate a health topic that was important to them and collect data from their peers and community. Their projects ranged from looking at exam stress, vaping, benefits of youth participation, to women’s health issues, failures in the PSHE curriculum and vaccine hesitancy. The results from their research went towards creating a set of health recommendations that young people felt should be prioritised for the improved health and wellbeing of young people in Southampton. A Youth Jury was held in July 2024 where the recommendations were refined based on collaboration with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Partnership. The 12 amended recommendations formed the basis of a manifesto for health which included the following points to be addressed by decision makers:

1.Expand Extra-Curricular Wellness Activities.

2. Improve our methods of handling young people’s mental health by creating accessible services.

3. Respond to Vaping Proactively.

4. Deliver a comprehensive digital health platform for young people.

5.Review the PSHE Curriculum.

6. Encourage the mixed teaching of Sexual and Reproductive Education (SRE) .

7. Cultural & Religious Sensitivity .

8. Information to Parents.

9.Deliver Youth Engagement.

10. Diversify and Expand Work Experience and Financial Support for Prospective Professionals.

11. Establish Panels to Honestly Inform Young People about NHS Careers.

12. Produce Youth- Led Marketing.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of the training programme, Youth Jury and Assembly at engaging young people in decision making and the resultant responses from decision makers is still ongoing. Final results will be available from spring 2025.

You can see Young People talking about their recommendations here

What did we do with this Knowledge?

•The recommendations created by the young people within the manifesto for health were presented to the Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) and wider stakeholders in health and wellbeing at the Hampshire and IoW ICP Youth Assembly on 13th November 2024. An action plan was drawn up in collaboration with decision makers to implement the recommendations in practice. These recommendations will go towards informing the delivery of health services for young people In Hampshire and the IoW.

•The criteria for a successful youth advocacy/ activism programme provide BiteBack with evidence-based conclusions that they can use to replicate and grow the success of their programmes. The links between youth health and wellbeing and participation in activism programmes was highlighted  The findings from this investigation also went towards informing how we run the Young Researcher Training Programme to make sure young people are getting the most out of the experience for their health, wellbeing and future quality of life. 

See the BiteBack poster image

BiteBack visual report (PDF

What Next?

The learning from this project will go towards informing how future YRTP sessions will be structured and run. For example, the advocacy and links to decision making in this project will be replicated in the next iteration. The next iteration of YRTP begins in December 2025, with a focus on developing a Southampton Youth Voices service.

The learnings from BiteBack’s youth activism programme will aid other youth organisations to successfully engage young people in improving their health.

This work adds to the growing body of research around the importance of youth participation and its long-term health and wellbeing benefits.

Talitha McCleery, 17, took part in the programme and said:

Libby Tickner, 17, who also took part, added:

Source:

Hampshire youth assembly shares health and wellbeing ideas | Daily Echo