HealthCity: Prof. Augsberger & Colleague Discuss Youth Advisory Program at BMC
Since 2020, Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) led a pilot project aimed at giving youth of color a seat at the table in health care policy. BUSSW Prof. Astraea Augsberger and Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett, vice chair of primary care innovation and transformation at Boston Medical Center (BMC), have worked together to develop a youth advisory board to improve healthcare institutions’ impact on diverse youth. As Prof. Augsberger points out, “community engagement is critical to developing and implementing relevant and racially responsive health care practice, and young people are well-suited to the work.” A recent article in HealthCity discussed the project’s goals and success since the initial pilot, and next steps for inducting a new youth advisory board.
Excerpt from, “Youth Advisory Board Elevates the Voices of Black and Indigenous Teens” by Elli Greenlaw:
‘The healthcare sector has not picked up the youth voice, despite the critical need to do so,’ says Gergen Barnett. ‘And there’s a gap between tokenism and true engagement. If you’re going to build a youth advisory board, then you need to have true partners on the other end who are willing to invest time and energy and funds. And you must be willing to fall on your face and be vulnerable and be wrong. It has been an incredibly humbling experience.’
Luckily, Ausberger says that this year-long trial board gave their team some great ideas on how to move beyond tokenism to create a true partnership.
‘One huge theme that emerged for us was how ready are we as adults and organizations to really partner meaningfully with youth,’ she says. ‘That was something that came out in this process, and the youth developed specific recommendations around that.’ Augsberger and Gergen Barnett are also looking to disseminate their learnings to a broader audience, both within BMC and to other hospitals and healthcare systems nationally.
‘As we aim toward health equity, we need to remember all the different voices that we need at the table,’ says Gergen Barnett. ‘And the voice of youth — especially marginalized youth — has almost always been blocked out. If we’re actually going to change healthcare and healthcare delivery, then we need to prioritize bringing these voices to the table.’”