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Youth researchers academy: a report on an innovative research training programme for young people in Zimbabwe
  1. Mandikudza Tembo1,2,3,
  2. Constance Mackworth-Young1,3,
  3. Katharina Kranzer1,2,
  4. Chido Dziva-Chikwari1,2,
  5. Constancia Vimbayi Mavodza1,4,
  6. Ethel Dauya1,
  7. Mufaro Makuni1,
  8. Dakarai Chipare1,
  9. Blessing Munyavi-Dehwe1,
  10. Daniel Raradza1,
  11. Sarah Bernays5,6,
  12. Rudo Chingono1,
  13. Nyasha Dzavakwa1,2,
  14. Rudo Nyamwanza1,
  15. Suzanna Carter Francis2,
  16. Victoria Simms1,2,
  17. Rashida Ferrand1,2
  1. 1 Biomedical Research and Training Institute, Harare, Zimbabwe
  2. 2 MRC International Statistics and Epidemiology Group, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
  3. 3 Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
  4. 4 Public Health, Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
  5. 5 School of Public Health, University of Sydney SDN, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  6. 6 Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Mandikudza Tembo, Biomedical Research and Training Institute, Harare, Zimbabwe; mandikudza.tembo{at}lshtm.ac.uk

Abstract

Introduction Youth engagement has the potential to enhance the design, implementation and relevance of research. Without strategies to capacitate young people with research skills, youth engagement in research is often tokenistic and ineffective. In this paper, we detail the implementation and evaluation of an innovative research training programme for youth (aged 18–24 years) in Zimbabwe called the Youth Researchers Academy (YRA).

Methods Quantitative programme data and qualitative interviews and focus group discussions assessed acceptability of the YRA, youth researcher and mentor experiences, and impact of the YRA over time.

Results We received 60 applications in 2019 and 89 applications in 2021. Ongoing feedback led to changes in the second programme (including longer training and certification). Youth researcher experiences included being motivated by learning new skills and valuing the relationship with mentors and peer networks. Many described long-term impact, including facilitation of higher education, setting up of new businesses through the stipends received, and, for some, opportunities to work in research.

Discussion Overall, the programme was acceptable, facilitated meaningful youth-led research and trained a cohort of empowered youth researchers. Young people were eager to learn and capable of both learning and implementing critical research skills in a professional working environment. Implementation challenges included limited freedom in the co-design of research projects and the additional burden of work for YRA mentors.

Conclusion The YRA provides a template for other academics to support similar training to facilitate capacity building and meaningful youth engagement for research with and for youth.

  • Public Health
  • adolescents

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request. Data are available from the corresponding author on request.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjinnov-2021-000885

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available upon reasonable request. Data are available from the corresponding author on request.

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter @nyasha_dzavakwa

    • Contributors MT, CD-C, MM, KK, RF: project administration and coordination. MT, CM-Y: major contributors to writing the manuscript. KK, MT, CD-C, MM, CVM: major contributors to all marketing and teaching material design. MT, CD-C, CM-Y, SCF, SB, ND, RC, RN, ED: programme mentors and reviewing and editing the manuscript. MT, CM-Y, DC, BM-D, DR: qualitative data collection and analyses. CD-C, CVM, ED, VS, MM: reviewing and editing the manuscript. RF: reviewing and editing the manuscript, overall oversight.

    • Funding The Youth Researcher Academy was supported by Hivos in 2019, and the Wellcome Trust in 2021 through a Research Enrichment Public Engagement Grant (206316/Z/17/A /A).

    • Disclaimer The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article, and they do not necessarily represent the decisions or policies of PAHO or TDR. In any reproduction of this article there should not be any suggestion that PAHO or TDR endorse any specific organisation services or products.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.