Our Health, Our Community, Our Voice: Co-Designing Social Determinants of Health With, and For UK Military-Connected Children and Young People: A Summary Report from a Feasibility Study

This study explored the feasibility of whether a co-designed, mixed-methods survey approach could work as a way of better understanding the day-to-day lives of military-connected children and young people (MCCYP) aged 8–18 across five Social Determinants of Health (SDH) domains based on the World Health Organisation definition1: healthcare access, economic stability, neighbourhood and built environment, community and social belonging, and education.
Social determinants of health interacting social, economic, and political factors and systems that shape our physical, mental, and social outcomes through differential access to resources, exposure to stressors, and unequal opportunities for development. Understanding how these determinants interact is essential for identifying health disparities and informing targeted interventions that promote equity and resilience within specific populations.
Rather than asking adults to speak on behalf of young people, the study was built around the idea that MCCYP themselves are best placed to describe their own lives, and that research tools should be shaped with them, not just for them.