Abstract
Introduction: Children and adolescents are essential participants in research aimed at understanding their unique health, developmental, and social needs; however, engaging this population presents distinct challenges, including ethical concerns, logistical barriers, communication gaps and retention obstacles(McCabe et al., 2023). Addressing these challenges requires innovative and age-appropriate methodologies, clear and ethical practices, and active collaboration with families and communities to ensure meaningful and sustainable participation.
Objective: This presentation highlights innovative and evidence-based strategies successfully implemented and employed by our research team to meaningfully involve children and adolescents in research, while proactively addressing associated challenges.
Key approaches: Drawing from the researchers’ extensive experience with children and adolescents, this presentation provides innovative, youth-centered approaches to enhancing engagement throughout the research process. This will include creating age-appropriate recruitment strategies and study materials, leveraging digital tools and gamification to boost engagement (Murray & Xie, 2024), and involving young people as co-researchers to empower their voices in the research process. Ethical considerations, such as obtaining informed consent and assent (Gibson, 2020), safeguarding privacy (Hawke et al., 2018), and navigating internal review board obstacles will also be discussed. Additionally, we will highlight strategies for fostering retention, such as providing feedback and emphasizing the relevance of the study outcomes to participants' lives(McCabe et al., 2023). Examples from our programs of research will assist in illustrating these strategies.
Conclusion: Through these methods, researchers can ensure that children and adolescents are not only participants but also active contributors, leading to richer, more impactful research outcomes. Attendees will leave with practical tools to design child and adolescent-centered studies while upholding ethical and methodological rigor.
Notes
References:
Gibson, J. E. (2020). Adolescents’ perceptions of participation in research: A review of the literature. Journal of Adolescent Health, 67(5), 607-613.
Hawke, L. D., Relihan, J., Miller, J., McCann, E., Rong, J., Darnay, K., ... & Henderson, J. L. (2018). Engaging youth in research planning, design and execution: practical recommendations for researchers. Health expectations, 21(6), 944-949.
McCabe, E., Amarbayan, M., Rabi, S., Mendoza, J., Naqvi, S. F., Thapa Bajgain, K., ... & Santana, M. (2023). Youth engagement in mental health research: a systematicreview. Health Expectations, 26(1), 30-50.
Martens, S. A., & Badger, T. A. (2024). Self-concept development of school-aged children with congenital upper limb differences: A mixed-methods study. International Journal of Orthopaedic and Trauma Nursing, 52, 101066.
Murray, A. L., & Xie, T. (2024). Engaging adolescents in contemporary longitudinal health research: Strategies for promoting participation and retention. Journal of Adolescent Health, 74(1), 9-17.
Platt, C., Hunsley, J., Platt, B., Morrison, H., Pace, T., & Gephart, S. (2024). Effects of a behavioral intervention with foster families: A randomized controlled trial. Child Abuse & Neglect, 155, 106984. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106984
Platt, C., & Gephart, S. M. (2022). Placement disruption of children with disabilities in foster care. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 66, 30-35.
Sigma Membership
Iota Zeta
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Nursing Research, Research Recruitment Strategies, Ethics, Children and Adolescent Research Subjects
Recommended Citation
Martens, Sally Ann; Platt, Christine; Russell, Taylor; Wright, Tanner; and Ball, Amanda, "Engaging Children and Adolescents in Research: Strategies for Effective Recruitment and Retention" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 96.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/96
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-11-26
Engaging Children and Adolescents in Research: Strategies for Effective Recruitment and Retention
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Introduction: Children and adolescents are essential participants in research aimed at understanding their unique health, developmental, and social needs; however, engaging this population presents distinct challenges, including ethical concerns, logistical barriers, communication gaps and retention obstacles(McCabe et al., 2023). Addressing these challenges requires innovative and age-appropriate methodologies, clear and ethical practices, and active collaboration with families and communities to ensure meaningful and sustainable participation.
Objective: This presentation highlights innovative and evidence-based strategies successfully implemented and employed by our research team to meaningfully involve children and adolescents in research, while proactively addressing associated challenges.
Key approaches: Drawing from the researchers’ extensive experience with children and adolescents, this presentation provides innovative, youth-centered approaches to enhancing engagement throughout the research process. This will include creating age-appropriate recruitment strategies and study materials, leveraging digital tools and gamification to boost engagement (Murray & Xie, 2024), and involving young people as co-researchers to empower their voices in the research process. Ethical considerations, such as obtaining informed consent and assent (Gibson, 2020), safeguarding privacy (Hawke et al., 2018), and navigating internal review board obstacles will also be discussed. Additionally, we will highlight strategies for fostering retention, such as providing feedback and emphasizing the relevance of the study outcomes to participants' lives(McCabe et al., 2023). Examples from our programs of research will assist in illustrating these strategies.
Conclusion: Through these methods, researchers can ensure that children and adolescents are not only participants but also active contributors, leading to richer, more impactful research outcomes. Attendees will leave with practical tools to design child and adolescent-centered studies while upholding ethical and methodological rigor.
Description
Inclusion and engagement of children and adolescents in research is crucial for addressing their unique health, developmental, and social needs. This presentation showcases innovative, evidence-based strategies our team has successfully implemented, including age-appropriate recruitment and youth co-researcher involvement. Key topics include ethical considerations, retention strategies, and real-world examples, empowering attendees to design impactful, youth-centered studies.