[Reflections] The Health Hive: Creating pathways for young people to take an active role in public health research and advocacy

Despite decades of research, adolescent health studies still rarely engage young people directly. Major reviews consistently identify a critical gap: there are very few formal training pathways to prepare young people for participation in research, beyond as the ones being studied. As co-author Sara, who joined the Youth Well Lab at age 16 years as youth advisor in 2019, said: “We want to be involved in research that is about us, but the area seems so inaccessible and unapproachable to many our age that we remain disconnected rather than engaged”.