Table 1.

The 17 projects included in the literature review.

Project authors (publication year)	Participatory methodology	Project context	Nature of intervention and intended consumers	Fate of intervention
Carroll, Burge, Robertson, and Rosson (2010) [48]	PAR	Proposed intervention design developed by researchers at Pennsylvania State University.	Preventive Intervention: an on- and offline community network health intervention for university students and families with children with autism.	Not designed or developed (project reached proposal stage).
Coyle and Doherty (2009) [7]	UCD/ collaborative design	Project driven by human computer interaction researchers at Trinity College, Dublin.	Treatment Intervention: 3D computer game (Personal Investigator) to support therapists working with adolescents in public clinical mental health services.	Personal Investigator has undergone initial clinical evaluation over 6 months at multiple sites (n=8 mental health clinicians; and n=22 youth, aged 10-16, gender not reported). Indicated that more formal evaluations of the game were under way, no further information beyond time of publication.
Ekberg, Timpka, and Angbratt, et al (2013) [49]	CPBR with PD process for intervention design	Collaboration between university- and government service-based researchers in Sweden. Grant funded by the Research Council for South-East Sweden.	Preventive Intervention: Online health-promoting community (OHPC) aimed at addressing factors that prevent obesity, including mental health, targeting young people aged 15-20.	Email correspondence with first author indicated a pilot of the OHPC was carried out; however, no formal evaluation was written up. The lead author wished to obtain sustainable funding before launching the OHPC and this is yet to be secured.
Elf, Rystedt, Lundin, and Krevers (2012) [50]	PD	PhD project of first author, in Sweden. Funded by The Swedish Institute for Health Science, the University of Gothenburg, and Vinnvård.	Preventive Intervention: Web-based support system (WBSS) for young caregivers (aged 16-25) living close to someone with mental illness.	During Web site development phase, after previous attempts to pass the Web site on, the original Web site (Molnhopp.nu) was partially redesigned and rebuilt on a different platform (Livlinan.org, Lifeline) run by SPIV (a suicide prevention organization) and a volunteer-run local mental health service for ongoing management. The first author published on the relationship between intended (Molnhopp.nu) and real (Livlinan.org) use of the Web site. Intended and real use were weakly related and dependent on context and the needs/interests of users. The original Web site Molnhopp.nu progressed to a randomized controlled trial (RCT) carried out over 8 months (N=241, aged 16-25 years); WBSS (Molnhopp.nu) n=120 (73% female); folder support (containing information on 24 different kinds of available support services in the community or society) n=121. The intention to treat for the primary outcome (stress) showed no significant differences between the Web group and the folder support group. Stress decreased significantly in the folder group.
Hallett, Brown, Maycock, and Langdon (2007) [51]	PAR	Project driven by a multi-stakeholder participatory action research committee, led by a project officer of the West Australian Aids Council (WAAC) and funded by Healthway (West Australian Health Promotion Foundation).	Preventive Intervention: online, peer-based sexual and mental health promotion (CyberReach) for adult men who have sex with men (MSM) and same sex attracted young people (SSAY). No exact age groups stated, likely to be 14-25 for SSAY and 25+ for MSM.	Stated project objectives met (ie, developing sustainable, transferrable protocols and training, and development of transferrable protocols for peer-based Internet outreach). Paper reports that the piloted intervention became 2 separate services offered by the WAAC: (1) Expanded the existing SSAY to include online outreach and chat; and (2) After a more extensive trial, the MSM service eventually became a national program called “Netreach” offered by the AIDS Councils in Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, and Tasmania. Netreach primarily provides online chat and support for MSM. Program supported by the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations and by Gaydar.com.au. No health promotion outcome data available.
Løventoft, Nørregaard, and Frøkjær (2012) [52]	PD with modified form of classic contextual inquiry	University-based research project in Denmark. Project supported by Lundbeck A/S, DIKU, Telenor A/S, HTC Denmark A/S, and PROSA.	Treatment Intervention: mobile phone app aimed at supporting people with depression by assisting with their daily lives. No target age explicitly stated. Youth consumers participating in the study aged 17-24.	Small scale 4-week evaluation of the intervention with participants who assisted with the design process—no further information available on intervention after publication.
Madsen, el Kaliouby, Eckhardt, Hoque, Goodwin, and Picard (2009) [53]	UCD with PD iterative design sessions	Project carried out by MIT Media Lab. Close links with Groden Center and Things That Think Consortium. Funded by National Science Foundation grant (hardware and software prototypes provided by Google and Samsung).	Treatment Intervention: prototype interactive socio-emotional toolkit (iSET) to assist adolescents with autism to improve social interactions (recognition, understanding, and expression of both the user’s and others’ facial expressions via software and hardware).	At time of publication, the iSET intervention was still under development, no further information is available beyond this date.
Matthews and Doherty (2011) [54]	UCD	Project driven by Human Computer Interaction researchers at Trinity College, Dublin (funding source and trial partners not stated).	Treatment Intervention: a mobile phone and online symptom tracking tool (Mobile Mood Diary) to assist adolescents with depression.	Clinical pilot (n=3 therapist, n=9 clients, mean age = 13.78, SD= 2.63, n=3 males and females, respectively) and n=1 parent, across a range of issues, including depression, mood disorders, self-harm, and anger management. No further information available on intervention after time of publication.
Mazzone, Read, and Beale (2008) [55]	UCD with PD	PhD study of first author who was the design researcher in a multidisciplinary research team. UK university-based project led by researchers in developmental psychology and computing. Overall project, joint collaboration between a team of psychologists, interaction designers, and developers. Funded by the HEFCE’s Strategic Development Urban Regeneration Fund, devoted to a consortium of universities in the UK, with additional funding from Esmee Fairburn Foundation.	Treatment Intervention: e-learning product to improve teenagers’ emotional intelligence for pupils (aged 12-15 years old) taken out of mainstream schooling due to behavioral issues (participating consumers were recruited from Pupil Referral Units).	Intervention (Uthink) implemented in Flash by a graphic designer. Uthink evaluation: N=84 (youth aged 14-16, n=72 males, n=12 females), no control group. Significant changes in a number of socio-emotional skills, including stress management, adaptability, and the ability to appreciate relationships between environmental cues and emotions. Participants demonstrated experiencing more care and guidance within friendships and less conflict. Reduced delinquent behavior and a desire to be increasingly challenged in school was also demonstrated. Correspondence with project leads indicated that the game is freely available at the Uthink Web site and is currently being used by schools in Lancashire, England, and is recommended by the Lancashire County Council for use in high schools.
Moen and Smørdal (2012) [56]	Action research with PD workshops	University-hospital collaboration in Norway. Funded by Centre for Rare Disorders and the IT department at Oslo University Hospital. Exploratory study.	Preventive Intervention: wiki-like site offering information, strategies, and support for people (and their families) living with anorectal anomaly focused on “living well.” Indicated all ages were being targeted, but email correspondence with first author indicated a significant youth component.	Email correspondence with the first author indicates there is no outcome paper for the intervention due to employment changes for key contributors. Piloting was undertaken but was challenging due to technical and interoperability problems and lack of professional and organizational support.
Monshat, Vella-Brodrick, Burns, and Herrman (2012) [57]	Participatory research	Researcher-led via Orygen Youth Health Research Centre. Funding: K.M. Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Public Health Postgraduate Scholarship, J.B. Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) Fellowship, and H.H. NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship.	Preventive Intervention: online mindfulness therapy program (mindfulness awareness training and education (MATE)) targeted at young people aged 14-25.	Pilot testing: (n=11 young people, aged 16-24, gender not reported) evaluated the 6-week MATE program. Focus group (n=7) and interview (n=5) data. No further information available.
Lakey (2014) [58]	Participatory research	Project driven and funded by the National Health Service Greater Glasgow and Clyde as part of their strategic direction for Child and Youth Mental Health. The Greater Glasgow & Clyde NHS, Mental Health Foundation, Snook, and Young Scot were commissioned to carry out project in partnership. Outcome of project is to provide a basis for discussion with stakeholders in the board area to translate findings.	Preventive Intervention: Aimed at exploring the potential of the Internet, social media, and mobile technologies in promoting better mental health and well-being for young people. Multiple planned outputs. Produced digital postcards that act as a guide to staying safe and well online for young people aged 15-21.	Project supported the development of youth-generated ideas for digital interventions to promote youth mental health and well-being. Animated GIFs (youth guide) developed but not available to the public yet. The project also developed other health service/resource design briefs. Work officially launched by Health Board on March 28, 2014. Project opened up connections with innovators across the UK who are willing to collaborate and develop it further. Email correspondence with project lead: project is close to gaining confirmation of funding that will allow development and delivery of recommendations from the project’s first phase.
Owens, Farrand, Darvill, Emmens, Hewis, and Aitken (2011) [36]	Participatory research	Collaboration between university and government service researchers and representatives in the UK. Funded by the National Institute for Health Research.	Treatment Intervention: text-messaging intervention to reduce self-harm for all ages.	Exploratory trial in progress at time of publication. No further information available.
Schmidt (2009) [59]	PAR	Source document was author’s master’s thesis. Youth Voices for Change (YVC) project was a subset of a larger research project (Healthy Youth/Healthy Region) that investigated connections between youth well-being and regional prosperity in the Sacramento, California, region in the US. Participating agencies: The Center for Regional Change at the University of California Davis (UC Davis) in collaboration with other project centers in UC Davis and the West Sacramento Youth Resource Coalition (WSYRC), which led the project. Funding from Sierra Health Foundation and The California Endowment.	Preventive Intervention: Google map (containing youth-produced videos and photos relating the built environment and well-being—eg, favorite, challenge, and adjust places in the community) and project Web page (the project produced other outputs but they were not technology-based). The overall aim was to investigate links between the built environment and youth well-being.	Media products presented at the planned youth community event. Qualitative data (interviews and surveys) indicated that the media products created for the event were perceived as successful by both the youth and the attendees (in terms of overall satisfaction, learning about the community, inspiring discussion, understanding people in the community and its diversity). At time of writing, the thesis indicates that the videos (and other project outputs) were being used by youth groups involved in the project, the Sactown Heroes, to promote their ideas and profile within the community (no clear idea how). The current utilization status of the Google Map is unknown as it was transferred from the project Web page (which was discontinued) and placed on a community Web site. The WSYRC is using the output and connections made as a result of the YVC project to develop a sustainability plan for the Sactown Heroes group as other funding comes to an end.
Stewart, Riecken, Scott, Tanaka, and Riecken (2008) [60]	PAR, youth participation model	Collaboration between university-based researchers and Canadian indigenous youth.	Preventive Intervention: Canadian indigenous youth developed artistic educational videos to address self-identified health concerns. For use in the local and other communities (aimed at high school and university students). Key research question: how can creating videos contribute to expanding health literacy?	Student videos presented at planned showcase event at the end of the school term to an audience of peers, friends, family, and community members. No information as to whether the videos have been used in other communities/contexts as planned.
Valaitis, O’Mara, and Bezaire (2007) [61]	PD	Campus-community partnership between researchers at McMaster University and the local government health unit in Ontario, Canada (rural context). Funded by Health Canada’s Drug Strategy Community Initiatives Fund.	Preventive Intervention: rural youth (aged 14-24) developed a Web site aimed at meeting their specific health promotion needs (with moderated peer support) with a broad aim to address problematic alcohol use. The project also aimed to provide an opportunity and skills for local youth at-risk to develop and implement the health promotion Web site.	No peer reviewed papers published for this study. Project report: the Web site was evaluated over 8 months (2006-2007). No outcome data available on ability of Web site to meet identified health promotion needs. The Youth Spark Web site was functional and updated until late 2014, when it was converted to a Facebook page.
Wadley, Lederman, Gleeson, and Alvarez-Jimenez (2013) [62]	PD	Research project that involved collaboration between universities (from human-computer interaction and clinical backgrounds) and a research supportive youth mental health clinic in Australia. Supported by Victorian Government, University of Melbourne, Telstra Foundation, IBES, the Telematics Trust, and the Helen Macpherson Trust.	Treatment Intervention: online therapy involving psycho-education, peer-to-peer social interaction, advice, and moderation from mental health practitioners for young people with psychosis aged 15-25.	Completed a 4-week safety and acceptability trial (n=20 clients, n=3 clinicians, age and gender not reported). Results of pilot testing results secured funding for a 4-year RCT. Email correspondence with first author indicates that the intervention is in the first year of a RCT—no final outcomes available.