Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore.
Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Moshi, Tanzania.
Front Public Health. 2024 Feb 27;12:1348242. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1348242. eCollection 2024.
More young people are living in the world than ever before, 90% of whom reside in low and middle income countries (LMICs). To address their needs, it is critical to have sustainable youth engagement when determining policy and to advance effective implementation of youth-focused interventions. Youth Community Advisory Boards (CABs) are a sustainable mechanism to achieve this goal. This paper describes engagement with youth CAB members across four locations in Tanzania. To set youth CAB meeting agendas and priorities, we asked youth CAB members to write (using free text) the top five challenges faced by young people in their communities (highest to lower priority). The Google Forms survey link was presented at the May 2023 youth CAB meeting and disseminated through WhatsApp. The survey was completed by smartphone, tablet, or paper provided to the youth liaison for data entry. Results were translated from Swahili to English and coded using excel. Findings were then presented back to the youth CABs at the September 2023 meeting. At that meeting, youth CAB members were then asked to write (free text) potential solutions to the most commonly described challenges. The surveys had response rates of 90% (84/93) for challenges and 78% (71/93) for solutions. The number one reported challenge was unemployment and financial instability (45%). Gender based violence (13%), sexual reproductive health issues (8%), and alcohol and drug use (8%) were in the top four both by priority and frequency of report. Other important challenges included physical and mental health, malnutrition, relationships, education, and societal and environmental norms, among others. Solutions included job creation, improved education, expanded legal systems, youth-friendly health care services, and increased social support through peer networks and community support. The National Accelerated Action and Investment Agenda for Adolescent Health and Wellbeing (NAIA-AHW) 2021/22-2024/25 includes most, but not all, of these top challenges and solutions. Ensuring young people have a seat at the policy table is critical to effective youth-empowerment in health and other related programs. Including a youth CAB member to represent this collective in youth-related government activities is a sustainable model to achieve this goal.
现在世界上生活着比以往任何时候都多的年轻人，其中 90%生活在中低收入国家（LMICs）。为了满足他们的需求，在确定政策时必须要有可持续的青年参与，并推进以青年为重点的干预措施的有效实施。青年社区咨询委员会（CAB）是实现这一目标的可持续机制。本文描述了在坦桑尼亚的四个地点与青年 CAB 成员的合作。为了确定青年 CAB 的会议议程和优先事项，我们要求青年 CAB 成员（使用自由文本）写下他们所在社区中年轻人面临的前五个挑战（从最高到最低优先级）。Google 表单调查链接在 2023 年 5 月的青年 CAB 会议上提出，并通过 WhatsApp 传播。青年联络人用智能手机、平板电脑或提供给他们的数据录入用纸来完成调查。调查结果从斯瓦希里语翻译成英语，并使用 excel 进行编码。调查结果随后在 2023 年 9 月的青年 CAB 会议上汇报给青年 CAB。在那次会议上，青年 CAB 成员被要求（自由文本）写下最常描述的挑战的潜在解决方案。调查的挑战回应率为 90%（84/93），解决方案回应率为 78%（71/93）。报告的头号挑战是失业和财务不稳定（45%）。性别暴力（13%）、性生殖健康问题（8%）和酒精和药物使用（8%）在按优先级和报告频率列出的前四名中都有。其他重要挑战包括身心健康、营养不良、人际关系、教育以及社会和环境规范等。解决方案包括创造就业机会、改善教育、扩大法律体系、提供青年友好型医疗保健服务以及通过同伴网络和社区支持增加社会支持。《国家加速行动和投资议程促进青少年健康和福祉（NAIA-AHW）》2021/22-2024/25 包含了这些主要的挑战和解决方案中的大多数，但不是全部。确保年轻人在政策制定中有一席之地，对于在健康和其他相关项目中赋予年轻人权力至关重要。让青年 CAB 成员代表这一集体参与与青年相关的政府活动是实现这一目标的可持续模式。
