Primary Submission Category: Methodological approaches to studying public health
Examining Adolescent Health and Wellbeing Using a Novel Multimethod and Longitudinal Community Mapping Protocol: The Promise for Youth-Driven Data to Address Health Inequities
Authors: Elena Maker Castro, Madeleine Kwei, Jasmine Bigelow, Violot Landrum, Avery Welch, Natasha Chaku,
Presenting Author: Jasmine Bigelow*
Adolescents’ critical action (i.e., civic and political engagement to dismantle systemic oppressions) can support health via empowerment and purpose. Yet, rural youth, who comprise 15% of young people in the USA, live in “civic deserts,” lacking opportunities for critical action. They also report worse mental and physical health outcomes than non-rural peers. Therefore, we used a novel multi-method approach combining participatory community mapping interviews followed by daily surveys and saliva sampling to examine rural youths’ experiences of critical action and health during the 2024 U.S. presidential election, an opportune time to study sociopolitical activity.
Our sample includes 23 adolescents (Mage= 15.95; 63% young women, 21% gender diverse; 66% LGBTQ+; 96% White). Participants represented 10 states; the median town population was 1,570. An advisory board of five rural youth guided our process.
First, we conducted in-depth interviews using a virtual, three-step community mapping protocol. Participants identified: 1) salient community spaces (e.g., home, school) and spaces for critical actions (e.g., protesting, voting); 2) the ideological climate of these spaces; and 3) different states of well-being across these spaces. Semi-structured reflection questions followed. Next, participants completed a five-day daily diary to report critical action and community experiences each day of the 2024 election week and provided saliva samples to assess daily cortisol levels.
Through reflexive thematic analysis of interviews and network analysis of daily diary data, we will illuminate how youth’s daily spaces shape links between critical action and health. Our approach highlights a community-driven and participatory method to understanding health inequities among rural youth via centering youths’ contextualized lived experiences. Through co-creating health data, we can inform community-based practices that ensure rural adolescents can thrive.