761 - Promoting health through empowerment: preliminary effectiveness of a youth participatory action research program

Publication Number: 761.6170

Background: Youth participatory action research (YPAR) engages youth as citizen scientists in their schools and communities. YPAR fosters civic engagement and empowerment, but its impact on aspects of physical and emotional health remain unclear.

Objective: In this pilot study, we evaluated effects of a community-based YPAR program on physical and emotional health among youth living in neighborhoods with concentrated disadvantage.

Design/Methods: Youth aged 13-18 at four sites in Pittsburgh, PA participated in an eight session YPAR curriculum co-developed by investigators and community partners. Activities included community asset mapping, guided photovoice, and group concept mapping. We administered surveys at baseline and end of program (EOP) to assess changes in psychological empowerment, citizenship, emotional health, physical health, and legal system involvement. Descriptive statistics summarized demographic information. We used generalized linear mixed models to measure associations between time point (baseline or EOP) and each outcome measure. Models included random intercepts for site and participant. Results are presented as odds ratios (OR) or parameter estimates (β) with 95% confidence intervals.

Results: Sixty-four youth completed baseline surveys and 39 youth completed EOP surveys, with variable retention across sites (site 1: 57%, site 2: 52%, site 3: 33%, site 4: 39%). At baseline, youths’ mean age was 14.6 (SD: 1.5) years. About half (n=34; 53%) were female, and most (n=46; 72%) identified as Black or African American (Table 1). Compared to baseline, we noted significant increases in psychological empowerment (β=0.39 [0.17-0.61], p=0.001) and civic skills (β=0.36 [0.00-0.72], p=0.05) at EOP. In addition, youth at EOP reported significantly lower odds of past-month arrest (OR=0.00 [0.00-0.16], p=0.01) or activity limitations due to health problems (OR=0.31 [0.11-0.87], p=0.03). There were no significant changes in other outcomes evaluated (Table 2).

Conclusion(s): In this pilot evaluation of a YPAR program, youth reported increases in civic skills and psychological empowerment. At EOP, youth were less likely to have legal system involvement or activity limitations due to health problems, suggesting YPAR may support other elements of adolescent health and well-being. Further work is needed to assess long-term impacts, particularly compared to existing youth leadership interventions.

Table 1: Demographic characteristics of participants


Table 2: Outcome measures at baseline and end of program with parameter estimates from multilevel modeling


Table 1: Demographic characteristics of participants


Table 2: Outcome measures at baseline and end of program with parameter estimates from multilevel modeling