Engaging youth to promote their well-being: methods and findings from a knowledge mobilization project in Nova...

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child affirms the human right of children to have their voices heard about issues affecting their lives. The One Chance to be a Child (One Chance) report provided an evidence-informed data profile of the well-being of children and youth in Nova Scotia (NS). To promote the report, we engaged youth from across the province in a knowledge mobilization (KMb) project. The purpose of this research is to outline the methods of the project, as well as the priority areas identified by youth.

10 NS youth (grades 7-12) were recruited to take part in a three-phased KMb approach: (1) A sense-making workshop to learn and discuss the report, (2) The planning and delivery of a youth-led forum to engage decision-makers in dialogue around the report, and (3) A participatory data analysis workshop to identify priority areas from the report. Data were collected through audio-recordings, note-taking, and pictures of all materials.

Five priority areas were identified by youth: (1) Access to Care- high-quality care in a timely manner, (2) Community Care- inclusive community solutions, (3) Open Minded Education- school curricula that reflects their needs, (4) Quality of Life and Basic Needs- living wages and healthy workplace policies, and (5) Youth Empowerment- youth voice embedded throughout all actions.

Engaging youth around the findings of the One Chance report supported their voices being heard, and their well-being needs to be considered by decision-makers.