Initiation Of Youth Cabs

While the primary reason for establishing Youth CABs is to invite and infuse the voice of young people in research design and implementation, it should be noted that they need support, upskilling and guidance into their new leadership role. After careful recruiting, selecting and appointing the best young people to serve in the Youth CAB, it is important to initiate them into their role by offering orientation, training and team building workshops. At this stage of working with Youth CABs we point out the differences between orientation which is an entertaining ice-breaking activity, training which is an educational activity for capacitating the young people and thirdly the team building activity which is essential for group dynamics considering that the youth board is diverse.

Initiating members of the Youth CAB into their new role cannot be overlooked because taking up a leadership role in a community can bring along the unexpected pressure of being a role model to other young, the need to balance existing sports and academic responsibilities and feelings of separation from other young people and traditional youth activities of the community. The Youth Power organisation caution institutions that work with young people that there is an emotional risk layered onto the shoulders of those that are considered strong and dynamic.

Orientation to the Youth CAB process:

Young people of all ages will need a fun-filled orientation into their potentially stressful leadership, advocacy and research advisory role. Some may be taking up a role of responsibility for the first time, while some might be joining a diverse group that is expected to function at a high level for the first time. The research team therefore needs to ensure that the orientation into the Youth CAB is an amazing experience.

Training and upskilling the youth to take up leadership, advocacy and research advisory role:

Training is necessary todevelop the young people’s ability to analyse the health research issues presented to them, identify their strengths and weaknesses as members of the Youth CAB and have the confidence to contribute into the development and implementation of research.

Team building to keep a positive atmosphere among the Youth CAB:

Research processes need consistency in order to measure the efficacy of the research tools used and a standard consistent Youth CAB plays an important role in the stability of the research. To retain the best Youth CAB members throughout the research process, one needs to create an exciting and developmental environment through offering team building exercises from time to time.

Planning and resources for training

The importance of properly planning and setting aside resources for an effective orientation and training programme and maintaining good morale of the Youth CAB through team building to enable a mutually beneficial process is important.

Initiating and training Youth CABs help them as non-scientists to serve as the bridge between the youth in the community and clinical trial research.
Initiating and training Youth CABs empowers them with skills necessary for reviewing and monitoring clinical trials on behalf of the broader community.
In addition, the training helps the Youth CABs to develop a better understanding of research and gain leadership skills
Researchers who work closely with the young people learn to develop research development programmes that benefit both the youth and the research

There is scarcity of standardized protocols and frameworks on how and when to start and initiate the young members into research advisory boards. Considering that the information about orientation, role definitions and training is crucial in carrying out the tasks of community liaising and advising the research team, it is most relevant to incorporate this stage at the beginning of the serving period of the Youth CAB. It is recommended that more resources be set aside to regularly train the Youth CAB members who want to contribute on other aspects of research either than community liaison, advocacy and advisory.

The Adolescent Health Initiative suggests some strategies for initiating the youth advisory board, notwithstanding that this process is fluid and every other strategy might work in its health and research setting. Recommended initial activities for new Youth CAB members may include:

Helping the staff at the research site
Organise awareness days at the research site and in the community
Put up posters and other educational material about the research at schools and around the community
Create social media posts and allow space for engaging with other young members on social media about the research

Other things to consider:

Before setting the Youth CAB free to manage its affairs as the research advisory board, make sure that they know:

The purpose of the research
The mission and the vision of the organisation that they are serving
How to elect their leaders?
Define roles and responsibilities
How and when to set up and conduct meetings

Remember that all aspects of working with the young people must be youth-led, which means that even the process of initiating and welcoming them into their new role need to have their voice and presence. Include them in planning the orientation programme

Allowing young people who are new in their role of the Youth CAB is challenging in that they still need the support of the researchers who are often adults, the structure within which to operate and resources like computers, mobile phones and data to plan and execute their work.

A key consideration when inviting young people to lead and give advice is to offer support in a manner that does not influence their perceptions about the research.

BY YOLISWA NTSEPE (MA, PhD)
ADOLESCENT PROGRAMMES MANAGER

UPDATED NOV 22, 2023

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REFERENCES & ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Creating and Sustaining a Thriving Youth Advisory Council
https://umhs-adolescenthealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/manual-for-website.pdf

How do community advisory boards fulfil their ethical role in HIV clinical trials? A protocol for a systematic review of qualitative evidence. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32354781/

USAID (2020) Youth Advisory Councils: Eight Steps to Consider Before You Engage
https://www.youthpower.org/resources/youth-advisory-councils-eight-steps-consider-you-engage

Adolescent Health Initiative (2014) Creating and Sustaining a Thriving Youth Advisory Council
https://umhs-adolescenthealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/manual-for-website.pdf