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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Contents Vol 22(3)

#TheHealthYouthWant: a qualitative analysis of a global crowdsourcing open call for innovative ideas to promote adolescent health and well-being in countries with a high HIV burden

Takhona G. Hlatshwako https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0081-8127 A , Ifeoma Obionu B , Yang Zhao C , Kelechi Chima https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0271-5160 D , Brian Ahimbisibwe E , Chisom Obiezu-Umeh F , Eleanor Namusoke Magongo G , Onyekachukwu Anikamadu H , Oliver Ezechi I J , Dorian Ho K , Yusha Tao L , Susan Vorkoper M , Rachel Sturke N , Juliet lwelunmor O , Damilola Walker P # and Joseph D. Tucker https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2804-1181 C Q # *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. Email: takhona.hlatshwako.22@rhodestrust.com

B Department of Behavioral Science and Health Equity, Saint Louis University School of Public health and Social Justice, St. Louis, MO, USA. Email: ifeoma.obionu@slu.edu

C Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK. Email: yang.zhao@lshtm.ac.uk

D Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. Email: kelechichima13@gmail.com

E Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and Miles of Smiles Foundation, Kampala, Uganda. Email: ahimbisibwebryn@gmail.com

F Department of Medical Social Sciences, Center for Dissemination and Implementation Science, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Evanston, IL, USA. Email: Chisom.obiezuumeh@northwestern.edu

G Ministry of Health AIDS Control Program, Kampala, Uganda. Email: eleanormagongo@gmail.com

H Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA. Email a.onyekachukwu@wustl.edu

I Centre for Reproduction and Population Health Studies, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Lagos, Nigeria. Email: oezechi@yahoo.co.uk

J Department of Public Health, Lead City University, Ibadan, Nigeria.

K Department of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Email: dorian.ho@unc.edu

L University of North Carolina Project-China, Guangzhou, China. Email: Yusha_Tao@med.unc.edu

M Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. Email: susan.vorkoper@nih.gov

N Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. Email: rachel.sturke@nih.gov

O School of Medicine/Division of Infectious Diseases, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA. Email: ijuliet@wustl.edu

P Health Programmes, United Nations Children’s Fund, New York, NY, USA. Email: dwalker@unicef.org

Q Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

* Correspondence to: jdtucker@med.unc.edu

# Joint senior authors

Handling Editor: Tiffany Renee Phillips

Sexual Health 22, SH24175 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH24175
Submitted: 3 September 2024  Accepted: 27 March 2025  Published: 22 April 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY)

Abstract

Background

Improving adolescent health and well-being is a key policy priority in countries with a high HIV burden, because adolescents have lower rates of treatment coverage, viral load suppression and survival compared with others. This study aimed to identify innovative ideas from young people (aged 10–30 years) on how adolescent health and well-being can be improved in communities most affected by HIV.

Methods

We organized a global crowdsourcing open call for ideas from young people on how to improve adolescent HIV outcomes and well-being in countries with a high HIV burden. At least three independent judges assessed each submission based on prespecified criteria. We then conducted a thematic analysis of eligible submissions to identify key themes to inform HIV programming and policy.

Results

We received 357 submissions from 37 countries. Of 107 eligible submissions, 91 (85%) described new ideas. Seventy-one (66%) participants were aged 20–30 years, and 30 (28%) were aged 10–19 years. Major themes suggested that edutainment interventions linking entertainment and education could increase adolescent uptake of HIV services. Digital interventions adapted for analog cellphone users (e.g. unstructured supplemental service delivery) could increase the reach of HIV information and engage remote, rural participants. Peer-based interventions could improve feelings of social inclusion among adolescents.

Conclusions

Adolescents and young people in countries with a high HIV burden can create innovative and feasible ideas for improving health and well-being. Exceptional ideas were presented to senior leadership at UNICEF/WHO/UNAIDS as part of a multi-sectoral HIV strategic planning exercise.

Keywords: AIDS, crowdsourcing, global health, HIV, low-and-middle-income countries, open call, qualitative study, sexual and reproductive health.

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