Research methods to engage marginalised young people in mixed methods research

What is it about?

This chapter describes research methods to engage marginalised young people in mixed methods research about their health system access, engagement, and navigation. Access 3 focused on young people who were from one or more of five marginalized groups: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander; living in rural/remote areas; homeless; refugee; and/or gender- and/or sexuality-diverse. We describe the recruitment and engagement of marginalized young people from two studies: ~ Study 1, an online and offline cross-sectional survey of young people; ~ Study 2, a qualitative longitudinal study of a subsample of marginalized young people. Youth consultants provided valuable guidance about the study design and engagement of marginalized young people.

Featured Image

Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Marginalized young people are often considered to be a “hard-to-reach” population where their recruitment and engagement in mixed methods research can be challenging. In Study 1, both online and offline strategies were employed to achieve the aim of oversampling marginalized young people. Strategies to engage young people in Study 2 included making it easy to participate, respecting participant views, and with both personal and broader purposes.

Perspectives