Adolescent Voices in Action-Co-Designing Digital Sexual and Reproductive Health Knowledge Translation Interventions: Community-Based Participatory Action Project.

A multisite community-based participatory project recruited 26 adolescent participants across three Canadian cities to co-design a digital sexual and reproductive health intervention.

• Participants were recruited from Edmonton, Vancouver, and Toronto.
• Adolescent advisory groups (AAGs) were established using a community-based participatory approach and principles of human-centered design.
• AAG members participated in design-thinking sessions to brainstorm ideas for website design, identify informational needs, and provide iterative feedback.
• The project was described as a 'large multisite project across 3 cities in Canada.'

Six priority areas for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) content were identified through adolescent advisory group input.

• The six priority areas were: puberty, menstruation, sexually transmitted infections, healthy relationships, sexual assault, and contraception.
• These areas were identified through adolescent-led brainstorming and design-thinking sessions.
• Adolescent input also informed the design's language, visual appeal, and engagement factors.

Engagement strategies including gamification activities, group discussions, and flexible scheduling resulted in high retention and ownership among AAG members.

• Strategies used included gamification activities, group discussions, and flexible scheduling.
• These strategies were employed 'to promote meaningful engagement of AAGs at each step.'
• The outcome was described as 'high retention and ownership of the process among AAG members.'

Adolescents face sociocultural barriers, fear of prejudice, and societal stigma that prevent them from accessing accurate and reliable sexual and reproductive health information.

• Digital platforms available to adolescents 'may not always be evidence-based and can further spread misinformation.'
• Digital knowledge translation interventions providing evidence-based SRH information in North America were identified as limited.
• These barriers motivated the development of an evidence-based, accessible digital intervention.

Co-designing the digital intervention with adolescents strengthened its cultural relevance, youth-friendliness, and credibility.

• The authors state that 'co-designing with adolescents strengthened the intervention's cultural relevance, youth-friendliness, and credibility.'
• Adolescent involvement was described as resulting in 'more meaningful, long-term, and youth-friendly solutions.'
• The process emphasized involving adolescents 'in the design, development, and implementation of the intervention.'