To evaluate opportunities to improve youth engagement in prevention and treatment interventions for mental health and substance use, researchers undertook a literature review of 40 papers. They analyzed various strategies to engage young people and grouped them by themes into six overarching categories. The categories included youth empowerment through participation in program development; engagement through parental relations; engagement through technology; engagement through the medical or mental health clinic; engagement through school; and engagement through social marketing. The researchers identified various characteristics that improve the likelihood of success in various types of programs and discuss a broad range of tools in their review of best practices.
Take away: Prevention, diagnosis and treatment programs targeting individuals 11 to 29 years old vary widely and this literature review aims to identify best practices that can help providers use evidence to make decisions about program design, delivery and funding.