Application of Youth-Led Participatory Action Research to Examining Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Ontario: What Can We Learn?

Engaging adolescents and young people as partners in research is increasingly acknowledged as a vital strategy to ensure diverse voices are heard and to catalyze social change. This article, coauthored by adolescent and adult researchers, presents the methodological approach and outcomes of a youth-led participatory action research (YPAR) study in which three teams of youth researchers developed and implemented projects examining equity-related factors affecting adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (ASRHR) in Ontario, Canada. Teams of four assigned-female youth researchers aged 16-19 years were recruited from three priority regions through purposive sampling. Selected youth completed a paid 5-day virtual YPAR training. Each youth team, supported by adult research mentors, identified key ASRHR issues in their region and developed a related research question. Each team then determined their study's design, obtained institutional ethics approval, and conducted data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Based on their findings, teams proposed potential solutions and communicated results to multiple stakeholders. Methodologically, the YPAR process amplified youth voices through a social justice-framed approach to examining ASRHR. Centering the perspectives, values, and experiences of youth positively impacted the youth researchers themselves, while yielding results that were relevant, meaningful, adolescent-responsive, and culturally informed. Results from the youth-led projects identified multiple barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services and products. Policy and practice implications encompassed concerns related to geographical accessibility, equity, service provider competence, and content of sexuality education curricula.