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Primary Submission Category: Health equity

Youth Advisory Boards with Emerging Adult Participants: Insights from Two Studies

Authors:  Giovanna Rafanello, Elena Maker Castro, Frankie Osso, Omisha Sangani, Angelica Vega, Cristina Zavala, Alison K. Cohen, Lindsay T. Hoyt,

Presenting Author: Giovanna Rafanello*

Youth Advisory Boards (YAB) engage target populations and ensure culturally responsive methods through youth feedback. Yet, they are underused. Under 1% of child and adolescent health studies in 2019 reported YAB involvement (Sellars et al., 2020). This gap is greater in emerging adults (EA), a key population for health research as they face transitions in education, employment, and socioeconomic status that shape long-term health. We draw on YABs in two studies: Economic and Educational Contributors to EA Cardiometabolic and Oral Health (3E) and Critical Consciousness and Wellbeing (C-Well). This project aims to 1) outline the process of establishing a YAB and 2) demonstrate how YABs that reflect study populations enhance health equity research.

The 3E Study, a longitudinal cohort of diverse EA undergraduates from two Hispanic-serving institutions, created a YAB (3E-AB) to merge scientific knowledge with lived experience. The 3E-AB meets monthly, facilitated by near-peer research assistants. Members receive a $250 stipend and optional mentorship. Applications rose from 10 in year one to 98 in year two. Seven members contribute meaningfully, forming a 3E Study Club and aiding study newsletters.

The C-Well Study recruited five advisory members of diverse identities who were longitudinal research participants in a national cohort of EA college students. The YAB contributed to developing a participatory interview protocol, recruitment, qualitative codebook development, and thematic analysis. Members were paid $50 per meeting for up to $250. The C-Well YAB enriched our understanding of how EAs’ civic participation relates to well-being (Maker Castro et al., 2024).

The 3E-AB led strategies to recruit hard-to-reach and underserved undergraduates. The C-Well YAB helped articulate relationships between EAs’ change-making efforts and their mental health. Our case studies highlight how YABs engaging EAs strengthen scientific rigor and inform solutions to health equity research.