'You think you know? ... You have no idea': Youth participation in health policy development

Percy-Smith, Barry

Abstract

This paper draws on research in the United Kingdom which set out to explore young people's understandings and experiences of health as experienced in their everyday lives and according to their own terms of reference, rather than in response to policy priorities. The project involved a peer research process followed by a large community learning event in which practitioners, community leaders and decision makers were brought together in dialogue with young people to develop understanding and explore responses to young people's health needs as a collaborative process. The paper documents an 'alternative' 'participative action research' approach to involving young people in research and developing responses to issues and problems that affect them. The paper highlights the value of a dialogical and enquiry-based approach supported by the use of visuals for engaging professionals in collaboration with young people in a process of learning for change. It draws attention to the 'policy gap' between professional understandings of young people's health needs and young people's lived realities and how this is reflected in differences in what young people and professionals consider appropriate responses to stress. © The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2007
• Journal: Health Education Research
• Print ISSN: 0268-1153
• Electronic ISSN: 1465-3648
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 879-894
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cym032
• Keywords: youth participation, health policy
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1026350
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/her/cym032
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This article documents a new approach to youth participation in health policy development and hence contributes to current critical debates about the theory and practice of youth participation. One reviewer comments: ... an excellent piece of work ... demonstrating an articulate and sophisticated understanding of the multi-layered experience of young people, the pressures affecting their mental health and the policy context/gap. A service director involved in the process commented: '..a major challenge is engaging young people in public policy. I found this process exhilarating - young people fearlessly holding public bodies to account .. an innovative approach'