title: Consulting with young people to inform systematic reviews: an example from a review on the effects of schools on health.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There has been increasing interest in involving the public in systematic reviews as they provide a shortcut to the evidence and arguably have greater influence over policy decisions and ultimately people's lives. Case examples of this involvement are rare, especially for reviews focused on children and young people. This study describes the process and impact of consulting with a young people's advisory group to inform decision making in a systematic review on the effects of schools and school environment interventions on children and young people's health.
  
  
  METHODS
  Consultations were conducted with a pre-existing group of young people brought together to advise on public health research. Their views were sought at two key stages: (i) at the beginning when general views relating to the policy problem under study were elicited; and (ii) half-way through to advise on how to focus the review on key priorities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Young people's involvement in our review ensured that the scope of our review was appropriate and that issues which were important to young people were considered. The group was especially valuable in terms of prioritizing in a relevant and meaningful way. A crucial additional impact of involvement was young people providing 'early signals' of key themes for the synthesis.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health and Human Development, UH250, Stratford Campus, University of East London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Farah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jamal
authors.affiliation: University of Bristol, School of Social and Community Medicine, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Langford
authors.affiliation: Public Health Registrar Office, West Midlands Deanery, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Daniels
authors.affiliation: Institute of Education, University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health and Human Development, UH250, Stratford Campus, University of East London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Harden
authors.affiliation: Institute of Education, University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bonell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D035843:Biomedical Research; D003657:Decision Making; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008722:Methods; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012572:School Health Services; D000078202:Systematic Reviews as Topic; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: consultation; involvement; systematic review; young people