Samira Soleimanpour, MPH¹, Sara Peterson, MPH¹, Claire D. Brindis, DrPH¹, and Ahna Ballonoff, MPH². (1) Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Suite 265, San Francisco, CA 94143, 415-476-8621, samira@itsa.ucsf.edu, (2) Youth in Focus, 1611 Telegraph Ave, Suite 510, Oakland, CA 94612

In 2002, University of California, San Francisco expanded their ongoing evaluation of eight school-based health centers (SBHCs) by launching a participatory student research project. Five students from each SBHC school were trained to identify health priority areas to study, design data collection tools, analyze data and disseminate recommendations based on their findings. During the pilot year, one student research team (SRT) focused on male utilization of SBHC services. The SRT surveyed 210 males and found that although 71% had heard of the SBHC, 55% felt they did not need services offered. When asked about contraceptive use, 37% reported using condoms inconsistently or never. Furthermore, the SBHC was not seen as a source for obtaining condoms, with 85% having never visited the SBHC for condoms. Based on these findings, the SRT's recommendations included increasing advertisement of SBHC services through creative channels and providing males with greater education about condom use. During the 2003/04 school year, eight new SRTs implemented their research projects on topics such as condom distribution at school and depression/suicide. Their findings and recommendations will also be used to inform and improve SBHC services. Youth involvement in evaluation efforts not only enhances the SBHCs' capacity to improve service delivery to youth, but also provides youth with a voice to influence decisions, policies and programs affecting their peers and community. Such opportunities can help to develop a pipeline of future researchers from diverse backgrounds. This project can serve as a model for youth-serving programs to engage youth in their efforts.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Describe how to engage youth in program evaluation efforts.
• Identify how to empower youth to serve as leaders in their community.
• Establish university and community partnerships to create change.

Keywords: Youth, Participatory Action Research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.