World Health Organization. Adolescent Health. Geneva; Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/adolescent-health#tab=tab_1.
Kieling C, Baker-Henningham H, Belfer M, Conti G, Ertem I, Omigbodun O, et al. Child and adolescent mental health worldwide: evidence for action. Lancet. 2011;378(9801):1515–25.
Jörns-Presentati A, Napp AK, Dessauvagie AS, Stein DJ, Jonker D, Breet E, et al. The prevalence of mental health problems in sub-Saharan adolescents: a systematic review. PLoS ONE. 2021;16(5):e0251689.
Patel V, Saxena S, Lund C, Kohrt B, Kieling C, Sunkel C, et al. Transforming mental health systems globally: principles and policy recommendations. Lancet. 2023;402(10402):656–66.
Agblevor EA, Darko NA, Acquah PA, Addom S, Mirzoev T, Agyepong IA. We have nice policies but… implementation gaps in the Ghana adolescent health service policy and strategy (2016–2020). Front Public Health. 2023;11:1198150.
Brown T, Wyatt J. Design thinking for social innovation. 2010. Available from: https://openknowledge.worldbank.com/handle/10986/6068.
Wallerstein N, Duran B. Community-based participatory research contributions to intervention research: the intersection of science and practice to improve health equity. Am J Public Health. 2010;100 Suppl 1:S40-6 http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=20147663&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks.
Wallerstein NB, Duran B. Using community-based participatory research to address health disparities. Health Promot Pract. 2006;7(3):312–23.
Baum F, MacDougall C, Smith D. Participatory action research. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2006;60(10):854.
Agnello DM, Anand-Kumar V, An Q, de Boer J, Delfmann LR, Longworth GR, et al. Co-creation methods for public health research — characteristics, benefits, and challenges: a health CASCADE scoping review. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2025;25(1):60.
Vargas C, Whelan J, Brimblecombe J, Allender S. Co-creation, co-design, co-production for public health – a perspective on definition and distinctions. Public Heal Res Pr. 2022;32(2):e3222211.
Longworth GR, Erikowa-Orighoye O, Anieto EM, Agnello DM, Zapata-Restrepo JR, Masquillier C, et al. Conducting co-creation for public health in low and middle-income countries: a systematic review and key informant perspectives on implementation barriers and facilitators. Glob Health. 2024;20(1):9.
Agnello DM, Balaskas G, Steiner A, Chastin S. Methods used in co-creation within the health CASCADE co-creation database and gray literature: systematic methods overview. Interact J Med Res. 2024;13:e59772.
Leask CF, Sandlund M, Skelton DA, Altenburg TM, Cardon G, Chinapaw MJM, et al. Framework, principles and recommendations for utilising participatory methodologies in the co-creation and evaluation of public health interventions. Res Involv Engagem. 2019;5(1):2.
Orlowski SK, Lawn S, Venning A, Winsall M, Jones GM, Wyld K, et al. Participatory research as one piece of the puzzle: a systematic review of consumer involvement in design of technology-based youth mental health and well-being interventions. JMIR Hum Factors. 2015;2(2):e12.
Mhango W, Michelson D, Gaysina D. Co-designing the FOotpaths foR Adolescent MAternal Mental HeAlth (FOR MAMA) intervention for pregnant teens in Malawi. Int Health. 2025;17(4):573-582. https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihaf007.
Mhango W, Michelson D, Gaysina D. Feasibility and acceptability of footpaths for adolescent maternal mental health (FOR MAMA): a co-designed intervention for pregnant adolescents in Malawi. Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health. 2024;11:e97.
Hugh-Jones S, Beckett S, Tumelty E, Mallikarjun P. Indicated prevention interventions for anxiety in children and adolescents: a review and meta-analysis of school-based programs. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2021;30(6):849–60.
Hugh-Jones S, Pert K, Kendal S, Eltringham S, Skelton C, Yaziji N, et al. Adolescents accept digital mental health support in schools: a co-design and feasibility study of a school-based app for UK adolescents. Mental Health & Prevention. 2022;27:200241.
Bazzano AN, Martin J, Hicks E, Faughnan M, Murphy L. Human-centred design in global health: A scoping review of applications and contexts. PloS one. 2017;12(11):e0186744-24. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186744.
Ali AZ, Wright B, Curran JA, Newton AS, Review. Patient engagement in child, adolescent, and youth mental health care research – a scoping review. Child Adolesc Ment Heal. 2023;28(4):524–35.
Grindell C, Coates E, Croot L, O’Cathain A. The use of co-production, co-design and co-creation to mobilise knowledge in the management of health conditions: a systematic review. BMC Health Serv Res. 2022;22(1):877.
Hawke LD, Sheikhan NY, Bastidas-Bilbao H, Rodak T. Experience-based co-design of mental health services and interventions: a scoping review. SSM. 2024;5:100309.
Pavarini G, Booysen C, Jain T, Lai J, Manku K, Foster-Estwick A, et al. Agents of change for mental health: A survey of young people’s aspirations for participation across five Low- and Middle-Income countries. J Adolesc Heal. 2023;72(1):S96–104.
Jones RB, Stallard P, Agha SS, Rice S, Werner-Seidler A, Stasiak K, et al. Practitioner review: co‐design of digital mental health technologies with children and young people. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2020;61(8):928–40.
Porche MV, Folk JB, Tolou-Shams M, Fortuna LR. Researchers’ perspectives on digital mental health intervention co-design with marginalized community stakeholder youth and families. Front Psychiatry. 2022;13:867460.
Bowler L, Wang K, Lopatovska I, Rosin M. The meaning of participation in co-design with children and youth: relationships, roles, and interactions. Proc Assoc Inf Sci Technol. 2021;58(1):13–24.
Shaheen R. Creativity and education. Creat Educ. 2010;01(03):166–9.
Alshammari A, Thomran M. Towards enhancing creativity and innovation in education system for youth in Hail Region. Advanced Education. 2023;10(22):122–36.
Yasmin S, Tanny TF, Ullah MdR. Creative education system at secondary level in Bangladesh: teachers’ and students’ perspectives. J Public Adm Gov. 2020;10(2):350.
Amoako JK, Sharma YK, Danquah P. Memorize, Reproduce, and Forget Inclination; Students’ Perspectives: A Study of Selected Universities in Ghana. In: ICMDE 2020. 2020. pp. 553–64. (Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing).
Akkari A. Early childhood education in Africa: between overambitious global objectives, the need to reflect local interests, and educational choices. Prospects. 2022;52(1–2):7–19.
Avusu R. Rethinking the Curriculum: Is Ghana’s Education System Preparing Students for the 21st Century?. Right for Education. 2024. Available from: https://rightforeducation.org/2024/12/20/rethinking-the-ghana-curriculum-for-the-21st-century/.
Hackett CL, Mulvale G, Miatello A. Co-designing for quality: creating a user‐driven tool to improve quality in youth mental health services. Heal Expect. 2018;21(6):1013–23.
Fakoya I, Cole C, Larkin C, Punton M, Brown E, Suleiman AB. Enhancing human-centered design with youth-led participatory action research approaches for adolescent sexual and reproductive health programming. Health Promot Pract. 2022;23(1):25–31.
Hart R. Children’s participation: from tokenism to citizenship. Florence, Italy: UNICEF International Child Development Centre; 1992.
Brown T. Design thinking. Harv Bus Rev. 2008;86(6):84–92-141. Available from: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=18605031&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks.
Tischler L. Ideo’s David Kelley on Design Thinking. 2009.
Ghana Statistical Service. Ghana 2021 Population and Housing Census General Report Highlights. 2022 p. 168. Available from: https://census2021.statsghana.gov.gh/report.php?readreport=NzkxNzQyNjEuMTI5NQ==&General-Report. Cited 2022 Nov 21.
Ghana Statistical Service. Multidimensional Poverty – Ghana. 2020. Available from: https://statsghana.gov.gh/gssmain/fileUpload/pressrelease/Multidimensional%20Poverty%20Ghana_Report.pdf. Cited 2024 Sept 19.
Ahinkorah BO, Budu E, Duah HO, Okyere J, Seidu AA. Socio-economic and geographical inequalities in adolescent fertility rate in Ghana, 1993–2014. Arch Public Health. 2021;79(1):124.
Adjorlolo S, Anum A, Huang KY. Adverse life experiences and mental health of adolescents in Ghana: a gendered analysis. Int J Adolesc Youth. 2022;27(1):444–56.
Kyei-Gyamfi S, Kyei-Arthur F, Alhassan N, Agyekum MW, Abrah PB, Kugbey N. Prevalence, correlates, and reasons for substance use among adolescents aged 10–17 in Ghana: a cross-sectional convergent parallel mixed-method study. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2024;19(1):17.
Amadu PM, Hoedoafia RE, Abem VK, Yakubu ND, Imoro M, Sherif AM et al. Substance abuse among the youth of Northern region: the realities of our time. J Psychiatry Psychiatr Disord. 2024;08(01) :15-23.
IDEO.org. The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design. 2015.
Chen E, Neta G, Roberts MC. Complementary approaches to problem solving in healthcare and public health: implementation science and human-centered design. Transl Behav Med. 2020;11(5):1115–21.
Leung CL, Naert M, Andama B, Dong R, Edelman D, Horowitz C, et al. A Human-Centered design approach to develop a microfinance and group medical visit model for cardiovascular risk reduction in Western Kenya (BIGPIC Study). Am Heart Assoc. 2017.
Leung C, Wong W, Isley A, Liu M, Parsons J, Geron V et al. Digitizing social innovation in an era of physical distancing: using virtual human-centered design to innovate pediatric complex care. In: Annual Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health Conference. 2020.
Pillsbury MKM, Mwangi E, Andesia J, Njuguna B, Bloomfield GS, Chepchumba A, et al. Human-centered implementation research: a new approach to develop and evaluate implementation strategies for strengthening referral networks for hypertension in Western Kenya. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021;21(1):910.
Aifah A, Okeke NL, Rentrope CR, Schexnayder J, Bloomfield GS, Bosworth H, et al. Use of a human-centered design approach to adapt a nurse-led cardiovascular disease prevention intervention in HIV clinics. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2020;63(2):92–100.
Damschroder LJ, Reardon CM, Widerquist MAO, Lowery J. The updated consolidated framework for implementation research based on user feedback. Implement Sci. 2022;17(1):75.
Means AR, Kemp CG, Gwayi-Chore MC, Gimbel S, Soi C, Sherr K, et al. Evaluating and optimizing the consolidated framework for implementation research (CFIR) for use in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review. Implement Sci. 2020;15(1):17.
Lee B, Choi M, Choi M. Evaluation of individual and community factors affecting adolescents’ mental health: a longitudinal multilevel analysis. Appl Res Qual Life. 2021;16(3):1187–203.
Wight RG, Botticello AL, Aneshensel CS. Socioeconomic context, social support, and adolescent mental health: a multilevel investigation. J Youth Adolesc. 2006;35(1):109.
Wickrama KAS, Bryant CM. Community context of social resources and adolescent mental health. J Marriage Fam. 2003;65(4):850–66.
Mthiyane N, Rapulana AM, Harling G, Copas A, Shahmanesh M. Effect of multi-level interventions on mental health outcomes among adolescents in sub-Saharan africa: a systematic review. BMJ Open. 2023;13(10):e066586.
Roshan R, Hamid S, Kumar R, Hamdani U, Naqvi S, Zill-e-Huma, et al. Utilizing the CFIR framework for mapping the facilitators and barriers of implementing teachers led school mental health programs – a scoping review. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2025;60(3):535–48.
Esponda GM, Hartman S, Qureshi O, Sadler E, Cohen A, Kakuma R. Barriers and facilitators of mental health programmes in primary care in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet Psychiatry. 2019;7(Glob Ment Health Camb 4 2017):78–92.
Le PD, Eschliman EL, Grivel MM, Tang J, Cho YG, Yang X, et al. Barriers and facilitators to implementation of evidence-based task-sharing mental health interventions in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review using implementation science frameworks. Implement Sci. 2022;17(1):4.
Watkins DC. Rapid and rigorous qualitative data analysis. Int J Qual Methods. 2017;16(1):1609406917712131.
Vindrola-Padros C, Johnson GA. Rapid techniques in qualitative research: a critical review of the literature. Qual Health Res. 2020;30(10):1596–604.
Nevedal AL, Reardon CM, Widerquist MAO, Jackson GL, Cutrona SL, White BS, et al. Rapid versus traditional qualitative analysis using the consolidated framework for implementation research (CFIR). Implement Sci. 2021;16(1):67.
Kowalski CP, Nevedal AL, Finley EP, Young JP, Lewinski AA, Midboe AM, et al. Planning for and assessing rigor in rapid qualitative analysis (PARRQA): a consensus-based framework for designing, conducting, and reporting. Implement Sci. 2024;19(1):71.
Gonsalves PP, Ansari S, Berry C, Gonsalves F, Iyengar S, Kashyap P, et al. Co-designing digital mental health interventions with young people: 10 recommendations from lessons learned in low-and-middle-income countries. Health Educ J. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1177/00178969241297821.
Jagtap S. Co-design with marginalised people: designers’ perceptions of barriers and enablers. CoDesign. 2022;18(3):279–302.
Christakou A, Gershman SJ, Niv Y, Simmons A, Brammer M, Rubia K. Neural and psychological maturation of decision-making in adolescence and young adulthood. J Cogn Neurosci. 2013;25(11):1807–23. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00447.
Duijvenvoorde ACKV, Jansen BRJ, Bredman JC, Huizenga HM. Age-related changes in decision making: comparing informed and noninformed situations. Dev Psychol. 2012;48(1):192–203.