Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia.
J Med Internet Res. 2024 Oct 18;26:e55441. doi: 10.2196/55441.
Given the rapid development of digital mental health technologies and a focus on connecting with youth, there is an urgent need to enhance the engagement of young people with lived expertise in research. Even so, youth with lived experience of accessing mental health services are particularly affected by power imbalances and may receive limited compensation in academic settings. Therefore, an emphasis on how research engagement not only improves the work but can benefit young people themselves is required. Here, 5 young people with lived expertise report on their experience of being employed as researchers at the University of Sydney's Brain and Mind Centre. As such, this team is uniquely placed to offer reflections from their work across multiple stages of research. This led to four key insights, including (1) creating accepting work cultures, (2) providing diverse opportunities for involvement, (3) giving young people agency and flexibility around sharing lived experiences, and (4) creating accommodating work environments for all researchers. We suggest that these insights can support more diverse ways of engaging young people and maximizing the value of participation for both researchers and young people themselves.
鉴于数字心理健康技术的快速发展和关注与年轻人建立联系，迫切需要增强具有生活经验的年轻人在研究中的参与度。即便如此，有过获取心理健康服务经历的年轻人特别受到权力失衡的影响，在学术环境中可能获得的补偿有限。因此，需要强调研究参与不仅可以提高工作质量，还可以使年轻人自己受益。在这里，5 名具有生活经验的年轻人报告了他们在悉尼大学脑与心智中心担任研究人员的经历。因此，该团队能够从研究的多个阶段提供工作反思。这产生了四个关键见解，包括 (1) 创建接受的工作文化，(2) 为参与提供多样化的机会，(3) 让年轻人在分享生活经验方面拥有自主权和灵活性，以及 (4) 为所有研究人员创造包容的工作环境。我们认为，这些见解可以支持更具多样性的方式来吸引年轻人，并使研究人员和年轻人自身都能最大限度地发挥参与的价值。
