Background and Goals: The Young Investigators project in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston was launched in March of 1998. This collaborative research project involves a team of two adult researchers and six local teenagers working together to study a neighborhood phenomenon of shared interest. The project was sparked by concerns about the effects of housing devolution (renovation and relocation) which has displaced hundreds of families in the Mission Hill neighborhood. The goals the Young Investigators Project are to: 1) Engage local youth in studying the impact of housing devolution on their neighborhood; 2) Provide a forum for discussing youth perspectives of neighborhood issues; 3) Expose Mission Hill youth to basic concepts in social science research; 4) Facilitate positive roles for teenagers in the community Methods: Teens at the Young Investigators Project revised and adapted survey items on social cohesion and informal social control from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods to design a survey on the impact of housing devolution in their own neighborhood. The team collected over 50 home-based surveys of adults and children in the Mission Hill neighborhood. Results: Preliminary analysis has allowed for simple descriptive statistics on neighborhood variables. Repeat surveying is planned in one year to investigate changes after housing devolution has taken full effect. Conclusion: This project model is promising in its combination of youth participation and community-based public health practice & research and may be adapted to address other public health issues facing youth and communities.
Learning Objectives: Learners will be exposed to a method for involving youth in community-based action research Learners will become acquainted with the basic elements of a training curricula for youth involvement in social science research
Keywords: Youth, Public Health Advocacy
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Mission Safe After school program
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.