Conducting research with young people at the margins : lessons learnt and shared through case studies in Cambodia, India, Sweden and Zambia

• Published in: BMC Public Health
• Main Authors: Jonsson, Frida, Pat, Puthy, Mulubwa, Chama, Jegannathan, Bhoomikumar, Mathias, Kaaren
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Umeå universitet, Institutionen för epidemiologi och global hälsa 2022
• Subjects: Public Health; Global Health; Social Medicine and Epidemiology; Folkhälsovetenskap; global hälsa; socialmedicin och epidemiologi; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-201284; https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14427-8

Building on the value of engaging with and enabling the participation of marginalised young people in research, theaim of this article was to profle practical and procedural issues faced when conducting studies with young peoplewho experience some form of marginalisation. Drawing on observations and research experiences from four diversecase studies involving young people who were either imprisoned in Cambodia, living in informal urban communitiesin North India, residing in rural northern Sweden or attending school in rural Zambia, learnings were identifed underthree thematic areas. Firstly, a need exists to develop trusting relationships with stakeholders, and especially the participating young people, through multiple interactions. Secondly, the value of research methods that are creative andcontext sensitive are required to make the process equitable and meaningful for young people. Thirdly, it is importantto fatten power relations between adults and young people, researchers and the researched, to maximise participation. These fndings can inform future youth research in the feld of global public health by detailing opportunitiesand challenges of engaging in research with young people on the margins to promote their participation.