Kids in action: Participatory health research with children

Abstract

Involving children in participatory health research (PHR) provides exciting opportunities to gain insights into their perspectives and capacities and encourages them to make a meaningful contribution to issues affecting their lives. It is underpinned by a rights-based approach, where children’s evolving expertise is valued. In PHR, children are not just research participants – they are co-researchers. This raises challenges and ethical issues on several levels, including the nature of child engagement, the role of adults, and methods to promote child agency, while also ensuring their safety is not compromised. This chapter uses real international exemplars to illuminate the complexity and de..