There is a growing trend nationwide to include young people in an advisory capacity in decisions regarding policies or programs that affect their lives. In order for such a concept to be fully successful, efforts must include more than "token" youth participation, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Ideally, programs should fully engage young people and offer opportunities for personal enrichment and skill-building. The Schools Center for Adolescent Health Promotion and Disease Prevention examines their philosophical approach to a youth advisory committee (YAC) in the April 2002 issue of Health Promotion Practice. This theme issue is devoted to the subject of eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities through community involvement.

Including young peoples perspectives is an integral part of fulfilling the Centers mission to promote adolescent health, says co-author Lisa K. Hohenemser, MPH, a senior research program coordinator at the Center for Adolescent Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Baltimore City youth in our youth advisory committee play a vital role by providing ideas and feedback about ongoing work and assisting Center faculty and staff to better understand the concerns and priorities of young people, their families, and their communities.

For example, when members of the YAC were asked to review a survey designed to determine HIV risk behaviors for out-of-home youth, they found some questions to be lengthy, confusing, and repetitive. The volunteers worked together with the projects principal investigator to reword these questions and make them more youth-friendly. The end result is simply a better product. We have found that young people offer a unique perspective and important insights that may not naturally occur to adults, adds Hohenemser. But, she points out, it is important to provide young people with opportunities
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Contact: Ming Tai or Tim Parsons
paffairs@jhsph.edu
410-955-6878
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
18-Apr-2002

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