Background

A vast majority of adolescents do not meet guidelines for healthy physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep, posing major risks for developing multiple non-communicable diseases. Unhealthy lifestyles seem more prevalent in urban than rural areas, with the neighbourhood environment as a mediating pathway linking urban living and poor health. How to develop and implement sustainable and effective interventions focused on adolescent health and wellbeing in urban vulnerable life situations is a key challenge and research gap. This paper describes the protocol of a Youth-centred Participatory Action (YoPA) project aiming to tailor, implement, and evaluate social and physical environmental interventions using an evidence-informed youth-centred co-creation approach, for structural improvement of the lifestyles of adolescents in urban vulnerable life situations.

Methods

In diverse urban environments in Denmark, the Netherlands, Nigeria, and South Africa, academic researchers will engage adolescents (12-19 years) growing up in vulnerable life situations and other key stakeholders (e.g., policy makers, urban planners, community leaders) in local co-creation communities. Together with academic researchers and local stakeholders, adolescents will take a leading role in mapping the local system for needs and opportunities; tailoring interventions to their local context; implementing and evaluating interventions during participatory meetings over the course of three years. YoPA applies a participatory mixed methods design guided by the newly developed SUPER-AIM framework assessing: (i) the local Systems, (ii) User perspectives, (iii) the Participatory co-creation process, (ii) Effects, iv) Reach, (vi) Adoption, (vii) Implementation, and (viii) Maintenance of interventions, in an integrated manner.

Discussion

YoPA aims to fill various research gaps, including the development of a practical protocol guiding the application of co-creation to tailor evidence-informed interventions to divers, multi-country contexts. Additionally, it focuses on advancing the research gap in physical activity and health within Sub-Saharan Africa and the involvement of adolescents in shaping their physical and social environments. Academic researchers envision that the YoPA co-creation approach will serve as a guide for participation of adolescents in vulnerable life situations in implementation of health promotion and urban planning in Europe, Africa and globally.

Inclusion Criteria:

• aged 12 to 18 years
• living in a disadvantaged area in Aalborg (Denmark), Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Osogbo (Nigeria), or Soweto (South Africa)
• active informed consent by the adolescents and at least one parent/caregiver where applicable for the participation of the adolescent

Exclusion Criteria:

• none

YoPA uses the approach "as open as possible, as restricted as necessary" as the leading principle in providing open access to research data, which includes taking measures to make research data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable.

Starting from July 2024.

Only anonimized data will be shared as well as additional supporting information, like a co-creation protocol, data dictionary code book, topic lists for focus groups and interviews, etc. All results will be integrated in an open access YoPA toolbox targeted at academic researchers, public health practitioners and authorities, policy makers, and citizens.

To request for data, a completed YoPA form "I want to reqest access to the YoPA data" should be submitted. Up to ten days after submission, the proposal will be evaluated by three members of the YoPA consortium.

Please check for more information the YoPA website: https://www.yopa-project.eu/