What is the YAB?
The YAB (Youth Advisory Board) is a group of 10 adolescents and young adults from the Boston area who share a common goal of addressing health disparities. The YAB meets on a monthly basis to identify relevant health issues, provide feedback and critique CHANGE Lab research initiatives, and facilitate youth-focused research.
Why did we start the YAB?
"Nothing about us without us" - James Charlton
How can we as academics conduct research that is relevant and empowering to the communities we hope to serve? This question illustrates both the issue that researchers face and a solution. The issue: most research is conceptualized, designed, and implemented without the perspectives of those the research seeks to impact. The solution: identify who the research seeks to impact and invite them into the research process as co-creators and partners - create a space where they can share their feedback, perspectives, and lived experience.
The CHANGE Lab youth advisory board seeks to create an empowering space that harnesses the perspectives, lived experiences, and imagination that youth possess to help address pediatric health disparities in innovate ways. Youth advisory board members provide feedback on each stage of the research process:
