Wellcome's bold ambitions to improve health through new strategy

Wellcome’s new strategy is supporting science to solve three urgent health challenges: mental health, global heating and infectious diseases.

Young people are disproportionately affected by these health challenges but they are often not included in research.

To find out more about how to work with young people and where investment is needed, Wellcome recently commissioned Dalberg Advisors to conduct a study exploring the role, benefits and potential of young people’s involvement in health research.

The study investigated youth involvement along the whole research chain: from influencing questions and research design, to data collection and dissemination and advocacy.

The reports include:

• Findings from a rapid evidence review of 187 academic papers on young people's involvement in health research, with a focus on mental health, infectious diseases and global heating.
• Recommendations on how to strengthen young people's involvement in health research from 146 stakeholders across 18 countries, including India, Indonesia, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Vietnam.

Ultimately, the study demonstrated that youth involvement can deliver benefits for the research project, young people themselves and their communities.

To maximise these benefits, however, the following challenges need to be overcome:

• Developing a new standard among funders on how young people’s involvement in health research should be supported;
• Developing and mainstreaming best practices;
• Generating and disseminating more evidence;
• Improving the monitoring and evaluation of health research;
• Strengthening networks focused on involving young people in health research;
• Involving young people in the funding organisations of health research.