The Necessity of Youth Participatory Action Research in Pediatric Health Science

Youth participatory action research (YPAR) is a youth-engaged research approach that centers the lived experiences and expertise of youth as co-researchers and emphasizes action as an essential result of the research process. Despite advances in pediatric health research, traditional approaches are limited in the extent to which they engage and center youth in knowledge production, implementation, and translation. In this paper, we discuss the ways in which YPAR expands and advances ethical priorities in pediatric health research. We then summarize the literature on outcomes of YPAR for youth and adult researchers, pediatric quality, traditional pediatric research, and health systems and policy. Finally, we address limitations and the feasibility of YPAR in health research settings, as well as opportunities for the expanded use of this approach in pediatric research. We posit that participatory research approaches such as YPAR are feasible, useful, and necessary for high-quality pediatric research in many areas. YPAR presents an important opportunity to strengthen the validity, relevance, and positive impact of research in the lives of children and their communities.