. 2021 Jul 19;24(5):1763–1779. doi: 10.1111/hex.13316

Table 4.

Quotes from key informants illustrating the themes and categories

Themes and categories	Example quotes
Group practices
1. Group purpose/objectives	“…the purpose of the council is to provide a youth perspective on decisions made in the hospital that will be affecting youth and children patients…” (Y‐003)
1. Group purpose/objectives	“…to integrate youth perspectives into youth health research.” (Y‐012)
2. Group development	“There was a lot of shared literature and shared practices primarily based out of the UK and Europe that was very helpful in helping us start and form the foundations of the national Canadian group.” (Y‐001)
2. Group development	“The first thing we did was we did a literature review of other [youth advisory] councils…. and then after that … we started interviewing other [youth advisory] councils and youth experts in [the city].” (Y‐012)
3. Group operations	“People that run a program or service, looking to change a policy or a procedure or anything to that effect, would generally come to our group and consult with us asking, ‘What do
	you think? What would you like to see changed? Do you think this is a good program? Would there be uptake?'” (Y‐010)
	“…[a] researcher contacted us and wanted [the youth advisory group] to go over a survey tool that they were developing for use with children and youth…” (Y‐001)
	“Primarily our meetings are consultations…. we have a lot of researchers that come in contact with the group for advice or…consultation” (YAG‐001)
	“…[at meetings] we discuss topics that are brought to us from directors of departments and leaders and … give feedback on [projective/initiatives] that they bring to us.” (YAG‐003)
4. Group structure	“We thought that the more [staff] roles you put in, the more [the youth] feel like they're not contributing to the discussion as much.” (Y‐012)
5. Adult involvement	“…it ends up being a little more intimidating and the dynamic of the group does shift a little bit once there's a really large number of adults in the room.” (YAG‐010)
6. Membership and recruitment	“Members are recruited through … [the research group's] Instagram page and Twitter.” (YAG‐012)
	“We have posters up in the units … with information in a QR code… Also, a lot of the physicians are aware of the work of the [youth] council and if they have a patient who they think would be a good fit, then they will bring
	it up with the patient and suggest that they look into it.” (YAG‐003)
	“…we try to reflect the diversity of youth in the community. We try and have people from different demographic backgrounds… [and with] different experiences.” (YAG‐009)
7. Access to the group	“I meet with the people coming and bringing consults to [the youth advisory group]. I meet with them one to one [to] find out what it is they're looking for.” (YAG‐002)
7. Access to the group	“We are always looking to collaborate, especially in research, and I know the youth love having a voice in the bigger picture of things.” (YAG‐003)
Challenges and facilitators to the success of youth advisory groups
1. Retaining youth engagement	“I find sometimes it's a little bit challenging to take research work and make it engaging…” (Y‐002)
1. Retaining youth engagement	“Reviewing policies and procedures … can be pretty boring. If I don't manage to find engaging ways of doing [these activities], some [youth] leave and that's what had happened in the first two years.” (YAG‐010)
2. Creating a safe environment	“The youth know each other so there's a real comfort level and a feeling of safety in expressing their opinions and their thoughts.” (Y‐002)
2. Creating a safe environment	“The honesty and the openness within the group really lends well to [its success] and the fact that they feel that this is a non‐judgemental place.” (Y‐010)
3. Putting youth in positions of influence	“For every meeting, two members would sign up for that meeting to be co‐Chairs. They would co‐Chair the meeting together and lead the whole meeting…” (Y‐010)
3. Putting youth in positions of influence	“I'm there to help support [the youth advisory group], but as much as possible, we want them [the youth] to be running and making the decisions for council.” (Y‐015)
Advice/recommendations for developing a new group	“…one huge takeaway is youth are youth. They have their own lives, they have their own interests, and they are not the same as adults. There are a number of considerations that have to be kept in mind when … [engaging] with youth.” (YAG‐008)
Advice/recommendations for developing a new group	“…make sure there is informed preparation for each of your consultations…. A lot of the times what happens is [the] youth are not adequately prepared before they come to the consultation table and so they don't participate as fully themselves…” (YAG‐001)