Table 1.

Characteristics of articles included in the analysis

Study ID	Year	Country	Sample characteristics	Sample age range	Sample size	Mental health research area	Study designs	Methods	Study setting
23	2020	United Kingdom	Children from a school in North West England	5‐10 years old	17 in focus groups, entire school for playtime observations	Public health research	Multiple methods	Focus groups and observation of play, participatory thematic analysis	School in North‐West England
24	2020	Canada	Varied in sex and gender, education, socioeconomic status, literacy, and mental health care experiences	16‐25	approximately 24	Health services research	Priority‐setting	Research priority setting	Community MH services, Hospital MH services
25	2020	Canada	Adolescents using child and adolescent mental health services close to transition and 1 year post transition	16‐19	21	Health services research	Qualitative study	Qualitative interviews	Child and adolescent mental health services in Ontario
26	2021	Canada	Youth who accessed CAMHS, caregivers of youth accessing CAMHS, and clinicians/administrators	youth 19‐25	20 youth, 17 caregivers, 21 clinicians and administrators	Health services research	Priority‐setting	Delphi study with qualitative analysis of comments	Child and adolescent mental health services in Ontario
27	2019	United Kingdom	Youth with severe mental illness, 81% female	18‐25 years old	16	Clinical research	Qualitative study	Qualitative interviews	Patients under the care of a community mental health team
28	2020	United Kingdom	Youth and adult researchers involved in a mental health research study with youth engagement	NR	NR	Clinical research	Descriptive study	Researcher reflections	Community mental health services
29	2021	Australia	Youth living in Youth Residential Rehabilitation Services	17‐25	18	Clinical research	Qualitative study	Qualitative interviews and focus groups	Youth Residential Rehabilitation Services
30	2017	United Kingdom	NA	NA	NA	Clinical research	Systematic review	Systematic review	Inpatient mental health services
31	2014	United Kingdom	Mixed ethnicity, genders, employment/education/unemployed	16‐25	65	Health services research	Participatory qualitative study	Quality standard development through focus group and nominal group technique	Community MH services, primary care, hostel, drop in service
32	2018	Canada	Youth accessing care for mental health concerns	NR	500	Health services research	Descriptive	Randomized controlled trial	Integrated community‐ based collaborative care team
33	2017	United Kingdom	2 male, 9 female, most in education	16‐18	11	Health services research	Multiple methods	Participatory design	Community
34	2021	Canada	Black youth living in Alberta, gender diverse, predominantly Christian	16‐30	30 interviews, 99 in conversation cafes	Public health research	Participatory qualitative study	Qualitative interviews and focus groups	Community
35	2021	United Kingdom	Students in 2 schools	18‐Nov	115	Public health research	Priority‐setting	Priority‐setting	Schools
36	2021	Canada	NR	NR	28	Health services research	Qualitative study	Qualitative study	Integrated community‐ based collaborative care team
37	2022	Norway	1 adult researcher and 10 youth researchers involved in youth engagement in research	adolescents over 15, adult	11	Health services research	Authoethnography	Autoethnography of patient engagement in a 4 year mental health research project	University of Stavanger
15	2021	United Kingdom	NA	NA	NA	Clinical research	Systematic review	Systematic review	NA

Study ID	Study primary purpose(s)	Key findings	Study focus	Number of youth researchers	Age ranges	Ethnicity	Gender/Sex	Youth with lived experience of mental health concerns	Model of youth engagement	Specific methods
23	How do playtime experiences impact social, emotional and mental health and well‐being, from the perspective of children?	Four themes: having someone to play with, games, things about playtime and how people treat each other.	Study report with engagement embedded	4	9‐10 years old	2 white, 1 chinese, 1 pakistani, all British born	2 boy 2 girls	No	Research and Development in Organisations (RADIO) model	Co‐produce
24	Aim to engage with youth and parents (or caregivers) in an emerging program of research aimed at understanding increasing mental health ED presentations in a Canadian paediatric tertiary health centre to support the development of effective interventions.	Research areas highlighted: (1) Access to mental health and addictions services; (2) Gaps in care; (3) Standards of care; (4) Stigma; (5) Experience of care; Also made recommendations for future engagement activities	Study report with engagement embedded	NR	NR	NR	NR	Yes	IAP2 Core Values for the Practice of Public Participation	Advisory meetings
25	To qualitatively explore the experiences of youth in relation to their knowledge, expectations, and experiences transitioning out of CAMHS services at age 18.	Themes: (1) Shifting awareness of the meaning of ‘transition’, (2) Ready or not to transition, (3) Mixed reactions to transitional age of 18 years, (4) Lack of information, preparation and involvement in the transition planning process, (5) Confusion around roles and responsibilities within the transition process, (6) Concern over transition gaps leading to poor mental health outcomes	Study report with engagement embedded	3	18+	NR	NR	Yes	McCain Model for Youth Engagement	NR
26	Prioritizing and refining the core components of effective transitions from child and adolescent to adult mental health services	26 core components; 3 themes: (1) need for youth and adult services to collaborate, (2) suggestions on how to operationalize core components, (3) barriers to implementation	Study report with engagement embedded	3	NR	NR	NR	Yes	NR	Advisory meetings and co‐produce
27	Explore the feasibility and acceptability of technologies to detect mental health deterioration	Four main themes: (1) dealing with mental health symptoms, (2) signs of mental health deterioration, (3) technology concerns and values and (4) technological applications to identify worsening mental health.	Study report with engagement embedded	7	18‐25 years old	5 White British, 1 British‐Asian, 1 Black‐British	2 male, 5 female,	Yes	NR	Advisory meetings and co‐produce
28	Explore the experiences and impacts of engagement in a qualitative study	Co‐producing research with youth makes a significant impact to the research, researchers and co‐researchers; co‐production takes time; build flexibility into budget and more interview training is recommended.	Study of engagement	7	18‐25 years old	5 White British, 1 British‐Asian, 1 Black‐British	2 male, 5 female,	Yes	NR
29	Explore what matters to young people living in a 12‐month voluntary residential program for young people aged 16–25.	Two themes: factors that supported an environment for young people to thrive, and the ‘change work’ that young people undertook	Study report with engagement embedded	4	between 16‐25	NR	NR	Yes	Participatory action research informed by the critical emancipatory paradigm	Advisory meetings and co‐produce
30	Explore “risk” in inpatient mental healthcare with an evidence synthesis and input from stakeholders	Priority areas of “risk” of inpatient stays for MHC: Dislocation, Contagion, Harm from organisation, Institutionalisation, Self‐harm, Decision‐making, Suicide, Aggression, Other (in contrast to the clinical risks found in the literature ie self harm and aggression)	Study of engagement	2	under 18	NR	NR	Yes	Nominal group technique	Advisory meetings
31	To develop user‐generated quality standards for young people with mental health problems in primary care using a participatory research model.	16 quality standards for youth mental health in primary care	Study report with engagement embedded	29	16‐25	NR	NR	Yes	NR	Advisory meetings and co‐produce
32	For youth with mental health concerns, does an integrated collaborative care model, compared to usual care, result in better outcomes? Economic evaluation of the new model	A description of facilitators, barriers and youth researcher activities	Study of engagement	30	16‐26	NR	2 male, 6 female	Yes	McCain Model for Youth Engagement	Co‐biuld
33	To understand the emotional support related needs of young people.	Two ways of supporting young people's mental health: provide choice, raise awareness	Study of engagement	12	16	NR	2 male, 9 female	No	Nominal group technique	Advisory meetings
34	The purpose of this qualitative research study was to identify the barriers and facilitators to mental health care for Black youth in Alberta.	Barriers to mental health care access: lack of cultural safety and inclusion; lack of knowledge/information on mental health services; cost of mental health services and geographical and locational barriers; stigma and judgmentalism; and limits of resilience	Study report with engagement embedded	10	NR	Black	NR	No	Youth empowerment model situated within intersectionality theory	Meetings, co‐produce
35	Describes the establishment of a youth research advisory group to plan health research	Student health priorities centred on mental health and stress	Study report with engagement embedded	115	18‐Nov	“cultural and linguistic diversity”	100 female, 15 male	No	NR	Advisory meetings
36	Explore the research team's experience of youth and family engagement in the design of an RCT and clinical pathway.	A description of facilitators, barriers and recommendations for youth engagement in mental health research	Study of engagement	7	NR	NR	NR	Yes	McCain Model for Youth Engagement	Co‐produce
37	To understand the collaborative relationship between a lead researchers and youth researchers in a research project aiming to improving mental health services for adolescents.	6 themes: (1) Commitment motivated by altruism, personal interests and a common purpose, (2) Inclusiveness and support to reduce social uncertainty and strengthen collaboration, (3) Reduced power differentials while ensuring clarity of roles and task, (4) Diversity in representation to expand the perspectives of ‘the adolescent voice’, (5) Self‐determination ‐ supporting adolescents’ involvement in decision‐making processes, (6) Flexible and systematic project management.	Study of engagement	10	Adolescents over 15 years of age	“a variety of different ethnic backgrounds” and with different life and healthcare experiences	“both genders”	Mix	NR	Advisory meetings and co‐produce
15	Understand interventions for mental health in children with long term conditions.	Challenges, facilitators and recommendations for youth engagement	Study of engagement	8	17‐Oct	NR	3 male, 8 female	Yes	INVOLVE principles and values	Advisory meetings