Founded in 2017, the NeurOx Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG) consists of a group of young co-researchers (ages between 14 and 25 years old) with a keen interest on mental health, who work with researchers in the Neuroscience, Ethics and Society (NEUROSEC) team and the Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre to create better-informed research on the mental health of young people.
Ethos
The group is founded on core principles of Accessibility, Transparency, Trust, and Sustainability. We achieve this through flexibility, collaboration, transparency, responsibility, empathy, respect for all group members, responsibility, and commitment. These principles guide the group’s operations, decision-making procedures, and activities, as highlighted in the NeurOX YPAG Terms of Reference.
Our YPAG members are not just participants; they are trained to become co-researchers, directly contributing to the research process. Lead by Dr. Lucienne Spencer, the NeurOx YPAG works with researchers on a variety of projects, from refining research questions and designing research tools, to analysing data and disseminating findings. For instance, we co-produced our recent E-Co-Flourishing Walk 1.0 with our YPAG members, continuously refining and adapting our study design based on their input and experiences
In addition, the NeurOx YPAG provides governance and oversight, alongside practical guidance on setting up YPAGs, peer-to-peer training, co-facilitation, and research training to motivate and increase young people’s involvement in mental health research.
NeurOx YPAG – New generation
In the first quarter of 2024, we went through a vigorous recruitment process to identify the next cohort of YPAG members. We promoted the opportunity widely in Oxfordshire and hosted two online taster sessions to introduce the role of YPAG. Over 60 applications were received, and after conducting two online group interview sessions, we invited 31 new members to join us and held an online Q&A session for parents.
Read about this process in a blog post by Asher Wood, one of our YPAG senior members.
YPAG Training
To introduce our members to research and research processes, we held two training sessions: an online ‘Introduction to Research’ followed by an in-person YPAG training day in early April (with an online version for those who could not attend in person).
We have an in-person YPAG session scheduled in December 2024 to further co-develop the training strategy. See the complete NeurOx YPAG training strategy here.
Read about our training sessions in a blog post by Eve Lownds, one of our YPAG seniors.
Photo credit: A. Gerbasi
