Our current generation of young people are facing unprecedented challenges, from the lasting effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and rising living costs being amongst many. These all impact young people’s physical and mental health in ways that have not been experienced by previous generations. In particular, there is hardly a day goes by that we don’t hear how the mental health needs of young people are not being met. This picture makes it all the more important that young people’s voices are heard when shaping future health research, including those young people who are not traditionally included in research. The urgency of this picture is at odds with the fact that young people are under-represented in research. In Generation Scotland – the largest family health study in Scotland – less than 2% of current 30,000 volunteers are under 18 years old. If this trend continues, society will miss out on the huge potential for young people to take part in and to shape health research for both current and future generations.Generation Scotland are looking at unique ways to include young people in decision making and rights-based approaches in order to overhaul research systems based on guidance from young people. In doing so, they aim to be open to learning from young people by meaningfully involving them as the experts in their own experiences and priorities. Generation Scotland needs more people, particularly young people to participate in these studies, to more accurately identify these signals and help delay or prevent the onset of diseases as we age. Generation Scotland launched a new compensation scheme for young people aged 12-18 years old on Monday 2 September 2024. The scheme follows feedback from our young advisory group members Please can you help to share this opportunity with young people and families across Scotland? Are you or someone you know aged 12 – 18?We are now able to offer £20 compensation to volunteers aged 12-18!We understand it can be especially hard for young people to make the time to volunteer, due to commitments such as school. As young people are currently less than 2% of our volunteers, we wish to support them to be part of our study and help us better understand the unique challenges faced by this generation.This £20 e-voucher will be claimable once the young person has completed our signup process. Our new compensation covers time spent joining Generation Scotland. 12–15-year-olds will need parent/guardian agreement to confirm their signup. If you would like more information please visit www.gen.scot or email genscot@ed.ac.uk. This article was published on 2024-09-12
