**Forthcoming in Progress in Community Health Partnerships (PCHP) 19.3. All rights reserved.**
ABSTRACT:
Background: The adolescent sexual health program of the New York City Department of Health conducted a youth participatory action research project.
Objectives: To partner with youth and community leaders in the design of a public awareness campaign on sexual consent communication.
Methods: In the research phase, youth served as co-researchers for twelve focus groups with 113 New York City youth. Youth-centered thematic analysis of transcripts was conducted. In the action phase, youth participated in concept development, scripting, and filming to produce three videos.
Results: Youth-partnered research identified how “awkward” it can be for youth to communicate sexual consent verbally or non-verbally while navigating factors like relationship dynamics, substance use, technology, and social media. The action phase leveraged findings to design videos which garnered over 100,000 views.
Conclusions: This paper provides an overview of a youth participatory action research project conducted with a health department, highlighting some lessons learned and recommendations.