University of California San Francisco
Innovations 4 Youth/Youth Participatory Action Research
Led by Dr. Emily Ozer, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley are advancing Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) initiatives through the Innovations 4 Youth collaborative. Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Emily Winer has led progress on a systematic review examining environmental outcomes of YPAR projects. Recent work has included development of new environmental outcomes tables to support data analysis and publication, synthesis of findings across 22 studies, and preparation of a comprehensive summary for Dr. Ozer’s review. Dr. Winer also led an updated literature search across four databases, established procedures in Covidence for abstract screening, and trained graduate and undergraduate students in systematic review methodology. Postdoctoral fellow Dr. Elia Delphi continued these efforts, with the systematic review still in preparation, in addition to expanding the YPAR website and infrastructure.
In a complementary project, Dr. Ahna Suleiman (UC Davis) led development of publication guidelines for YPAR research, preparing both a peer-reviewed journal article and a tool for journal editors. These efforts aim to enhance the visibility and rigor of YPAR research in scholarly publishing and to strengthen infrastructure for dissemination across academic and community settings.
Ozer EJ, Abraczinskas M, Suleiman AB, Kennedy H, Nash A. Youth-led participatory action research and developmental science: Intersections and innovations. Annual Review of Developmental Psychology. 2024;6:401-423. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-devpsych-010923-100158
Kornbluh M, Abraczinskas M, Hoyt LT, Bell S, Kuchera M, Thomas L. Navigating the Institutional Review Board and other institutional entities: An ode to aspiring YPAR scholars. Am J Community Psychol. 2025;75(1-2):102-116. doi:10.1002/ajcp.12773