Expertise based on experience matters. Young people who experience mental health challenges and treatment can provide unique insights that others do not have. Through roles such as youth advisors and peer researchers, they can put that knowledge to use. They are best placed to make a participant information and consent form meaningful and comprehensible for people their age. They can advise whether an intervention is appealing and practical before considerable time and resources are invested in development and testing. There is evidence that involving people with lived experience in research helps to improve funding success, recruitment rates and research outcomes. Across the research cycle, from identifying research gaps and priorities to translating research into policy and practice, young people can increase the chance of research making a real difference.
SOURCE: Nature Human Behaviour, by Magenta Simmons, Sept. 20, 2021: Nat Hum Behav 5, page 1,263 (2021); doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01186-6.
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