title: Letting youths choose for themselves: concept mapping as a participatory approach for program and service planning.
abstract: Ensuring that the voices of youths are heard is key in creating services that align with the needs and goals of youths. Concept mapping, a participatory mixed-methods approach, was used to engage youths, families, and service providers in an assessment of service gaps facing youth in an underserviced neighborhood in Toronto, Canada. We describe 6 phases of concept mapping: preparation, brainstorming, sorting and rating, analysis, interpretation, and utilization. Results demonstrate that youths and service providers vary in their conceptualizations of youth service needs and priorities. Implications for service planning and for youth engagement in research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: School of Population and Public Health, The University of British Columbia Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Ms Minh); Centre for Research on Inner City Health, The Keenan Research Centre in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Ms Minh and Drs Patel and O'Campo); School of Early Childhood Studies, Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Dr Patel); Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Ms Bruce-Barrett); and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Dr O'Campo).
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Minh
authors.forename: Sejal
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bruce-Barrett
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: OʼCampo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016497:Adolescent Health Services; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009864:Ontario; D010358:Patient Participation; D055815:Young Adult