Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)

Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)

The Sports as a Catalyst for Health research team is dedicated to making sports safer by preventing injuries, managing concussions, and addressing mental health concerns.

We are looking for diverse youth in the Niagara Region to join us in shaping the future of sports research!

As part of our Youth Sport Advisory Group, you'll have the opportunity to lend your voice and expertise to the research process.

If you are interested in joining the Youth Sport Advisory Group, click this link or scan the QR code to fill out the application form!

Who Can Participate?

Be between 15-25 years old
Have connections to youth sports
Have experience with sport-related injuries, concussions or mental health challenges or improvements associated with sport.

Our Team

Amanda Black

Gina Dimitropoulos

Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)

What is a YPAR?

Youth participatory action research (YPAR) is an innovative research approach where youth are trained to identify and analyze problems in their lives; it prioritizes knowledge developed by the youth for youth. It is instrumental in recognizing young individuals as capable leaders with valuable knowledge and experiences to achieve important and clear missions that impact their lives. In this YPAR, you will become part of the youth sport advisory group (YSAG) and have the opportunity to become both research participants and youth researchers and collaborate with a research team of experts to address systemic health inequities in sports that you have experienced in sports.

What is the YSAG?

The YSAG is a group 10 of youths from diverse backgrounds, and sporting experiences aged 15-25 (you!). This youth sport advisory group will bring youth voices directly into sport research. You will be considered both participants and co-investigators, meaning you will share your lived experience while also helping to shape the direction of the project as youth researchers.

Do I need any specific experience to be a part of the YSAG?

Not at all! YSAG members are youth that are interested in learning more about sport research and want to contribute directly to youth sport research. You will receive training and be matched with a mentor who will help guide you through your research decision making process.

What is the purpose of this study?

This study aims to partner with youth to develop evidence-informed interventions that address three significant “grand challenges” in sports through an equity lens: injuries, concussions, and mental health. As a part of the YSAG, you will be empowered to identify important interventions and implementation strategies that are relevant to you. By the end of this you will be able to:

Understand the challenges related to sports injuries, concussions, and mental health in sports through a healthy equity lens.
To co-design youth generated strategies for addressing injuries, concussions, and mental health while considering social and structural determinates of health, including the roles of race, gender, and class.

What are the study procedures and methods?

The research team and YSAG will engage in four main workshops over the course of 8 months:

Co-design workshop 1 (Introduction): this event will outline the grand challenges, study aims, known racial and social and/or structural determinants of health. We will discuss the goal of the project to generate innovative, feasible, youth-friendly, and equitable solutions. Each youth will be matched with a mentor. We will share our goal to promote mentorship, authentic decision-making, and reciprocal learning.
Co-design workshop 2 (Barriers and facilitators): here you will work collaboratively to shape the interventions you would like to implement of each of the 3 grand challenges and discuss your approach for understanding barrier and facilitators of implementing your intervention. Our team of experts is equipped to assist you in various research methods, including surveys, focus groups, interviews, observations, and photovoice, allowing you to choose the approach that resonates most with their objectives for addressing a grand challenge in the co-design workshops
Co-design workshop 3 (Tailoring Solutions and deciding on implementation outcomes): You will share the findings from their research on barriers and facilitators and work to tailor their interventions. They will build on the evidence provided in the grand challenge, their personal experience, the findings from their research, and be informed by Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) strategies). Outside partners and knowledge user groups including parents, coaches or sport administrators may be invited to participate in this session depending on your needs.
Co-design workshop 4 (Shared learning): We will share our learning as a team and create a workplan for knowledge translation outputs.

You will be asked to track your time. If your time commitment exceeds the estimated 80 hours, you may be eligible for additional compensation. This will be discussed with your mentor.

Photos may be taken during the co-design workshops to help document the group process. These will only be shared publicly if you provide written consent. Participation in any photo is completely optional. We will be also audio and video recording the session for research purpose. The audio will be transcribed (written down) so that quotes can be used in publications. The video is used to check the audio is correct. This is considered research data and kept confidential.

This study has been reviewed and approved by the Brock University Research Ethics Board (File #: 23-281). If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, contact reb@brocku.ca or (905) 688-5550, Ext. 3035.

What is the time commitment for YSAG members?

Participation will occur over the course of 8 months (32 weeks) and will involve a total of approximately 80 hours. This includes four in-person workshops (4 hours each, totaling 16 hours) and weekly youth-led meetings with mentors (2 hours per week, totaling 64 hours).

How do I get my honorarium?

To recognize your contribution to the YSAG, you will receive compensation of $25 per hour. You can choose to be compensated with either cash or a gift card. If you choose a gift card, no SIN information will be required. If you choose cash, we will need your Date of Birth and SIN, as this payment is taxable and reported to the Canada Revenue Agency. You will receive a T4 income tax slip for filing your taxes. Please note that your information will remain in the University’s system, but no information linking you to this study will be retained.

Where and how is my information going to be used?

Results from the research projects we do as a team may be published in professional journals and presented at conferences. Individual contributions will be provided pseudonyms for any quotes and those who choose to be authors during publication will be identified as youth researchers. You will be provided with an opportunity to participate in the development of research papers and presentations at conferences. You will also have the opportunity to develop webinars and toolkits to share your research findings.

What are the risks and benefits?

As a youth sport advisory group member, you will have the opportunity to develop your communication, leadership, creative thinking, research, and public speaking skills. The main goal of this project is to involve youth in the research process, which has the potential to inspire the next generation of leaders. You will help design interventions that aim to support youth health and well-being.

There also may be risks associated with participation. You will be asked to reflect on your experience with injuries, concussions, and/or mental health. It is possible that talking about these experiences could make you feel emotional, stressed, or embarrassed. As a youth sport advisory group member, you may take part with peers you know well, which could increase the risk of other people knowing your experiences. To decrease the possible discomforts of talking about your experiences, you and other youth sport advisory group members will not need to answer questions that you do not want to answer, and you will not be pressed to answer. All youth sport advisory group members will be mentored and receive training related to the importance of maintaining participants privacy.

What are my rights with research?

As a study participant it is important that you understand the full details of participating in a research study. The better you and your mentor understand each other and the details of the study, the more likely it is that you might have a positive research experience. Participation in the YSAG is voluntary, you are allowed at any time to refuse a question, whether it’s an interview question or during a focus group discussion. Additionally, if you decide to withdraw you will not lose any honorarium you have already received but will not be entitled to further compensation for your time. You may withdraw by letting your mentor or Dr. Black know.

How will my privacy be maintained?

As a youth sport advisory group member, you are an active participant in your research. The research team will have access to your name, address, age, and contact information to be able to work with you. As a youth sport advisory group member, you will be involved in group sessions with the research team and other advisory group members, which will allow others participating in the group to know who you are. It’s important to know there are risks to this, and you don’t have to answer any questions you are not comfortable answering. Given the format of this session, we ask you to respect your fellow participants by keeping all information that identifies or could potentially identify a participant and/or their comments confidential.

Data collected during this study will be stored in a secure location and access to the data will be managed by Dr. Black. Electronic data will be kept in a secure folder on Microsoft teams with access limited. Data will be stored for up to 5 years following the completion of the project and then deleted from the folder. Any data collected in pen and paper formats will be stored in locked cabinets and shredded 5 years after completion of the project.

What accomodations are available for YSAG with accessibility requirements?

We are committed to ensuring that all YSAG members can fully participate. Accommodations for accessibility requirements are available and can include modifications such as assistive technologies, flexible mentor meeting formats, and accessible venues. Please inform us of your specific needs so we can provide the appropriate support.

Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)

Research Vocabulary

Here are some common words that are often used by researchers that might help you better understand how a research study is being conducted.

Analyze: to examine something carefully and in detail so you can identify causes, key factors, or possible results of an event, behavior, issue, or experience.

Anonymity: the personal identity of a research participant is not known to the researchers.

Confidentiality: researchers do not share any of the information provided during the study with anyone, except those working on the research project who need to know. Researchers also don’t share the identities of people they may have met, seen or spoken with, with anyone outside of the project.

Ethics: the principles that describe how a research project should be conducted. Universities, health authorities, and school districts typically have a strict set of guidelines that a researcher must follow to make sure research is done in ways that do not harm participants. Universities also have ethics boards that review a researcher’s project and must approve it before the researcher can begin their study.

Findings: information (or data) that is discovered because of research.

Focus Group: a small group of people specially chosen to represent a wider population who are asked to talk about and share their opinions about a particular subject.

Honorarium: money or a gift in kind (for example, gift certificate) given to research participants to compensate them for sharing their time, knowledge, and opinions with the researchers.

Informed Consent: when a person agrees to participate in a study after having been told about and understood the risks and benefits of participating.

Interview: a meeting where a researcher asks questions to find out a study participant’s views or experiences. Sometimes, interviews are audio or video recorded. Other times, only written notes are taken. The researcher should tell you about how the interview will be conducted before you agree to participate.

Pseudonym: a false name used by a participant instead of their real name to keep their identity a secret.

Research (Academic): research done for educational purposes that is completed by schools, universities, colleges, health authorities, or government agencies.

Market Research: the work of collecting information about what people buy and why.

Study Methods: the way that the study is being done. Common study methods include surveys, interviews, and focus groups.

Survey: using questionnaires to investigate the opinions or behavior of a particular group of people.

Transcript: a written word-for-word copy of what was said during an interview.