How Stanford Researchers Are Reshaping Teen Healthcare Through Community Partnerships

Stanford Medicine researchers are pioneering a new approach to teen healthcare by working directly with communities to identify and solve real barriers to care. Rather than designing health programs in isolation, these innovative projects bring together academic researchers and community members as equal partners to create solutions that address the specific needs of adolescents who face the greatest challenges accessing quality healthcare.

What Are Community-Engaged Research Projects and Why Do They Matter?

Community-engaged research represents a fundamental shift in how health solutions get developed. Instead of experts deciding what teens need, these projects invite community members, youth, and local organizations to shape the research from the beginning. The Maternal and Child Health Research Institute (MCHRI) at Stanford recently showcased two groundbreaking examples of this approach through their Community-Engaged Research to Promote Health Equity (CERPHE) Pilot Grants program.

This collaborative model offers several distinct advantages for improving adolescent health outcomes:

• Real-World Insights: Community partners bring lived experience and practical knowledge about what actually works in their neighborhoods, not just what theory suggests should work.
• Trust and Buy-In: When teens and families help design healthcare solutions, they're more likely to use them because the programs reflect their values and address their actual concerns.
• Equity Focus: These partnerships specifically target health disparities by centering the voices of underserved populations who have historically been left out of healthcare planning.
• Sustainable Solutions: Programs developed with community input tend to last longer and create lasting change because they're built on genuine partnerships rather than top-down mandates.

Which Teen Health Challenges Are Being Addressed?

Two flagship projects funded through CERPHE are already making waves in adolescent healthcare. The first focuses on improving access to healthcare for migrant youth through co-design and participatory research methods. This project recognizes that migrant families face unique barriers—language differences, transportation challenges, immigration concerns, and cultural factors—that standard healthcare systems often overlook.

The second initiative, called the Teen Van Relationship Strengthening Project, takes a holistic approach to adolescent health care. Rather than treating teens as collections of separate health problems, this project recognizes that mental health, physical health, social connections, and life circumstances are all interconnected.

Both teams are now sharing their experiences and lessons learned with the broader healthcare community. The community-academic partnerships have revealed important insights about what works and what doesn't when trying to bridge the gap between research institutions and the neighborhoods they serve. These real-world lessons are helping other researchers understand the practical challenges of community-engaged work and how to navigate them successfully.

How Is Stanford Supporting This New Approach to Teen Healthcare?

Stanford's commitment to reshaping adolescent healthcare extends beyond individual projects. The MCHRI provides funding, training, and resources specifically designed to support researchers who want to work with communities rather than simply study them. This institutional backing signals that community-engaged research isn't a nice-to-have addition to healthcare—it's becoming central to how we develop better solutions for teens.

The institute also hosts regular seminars and events where researchers can learn from each other's experiences, access clinical research services, and connect with a growing community of scholars committed to health equity. By creating these networks and support systems, Stanford is helping to scale this approach beyond individual projects to create systemic change in how adolescent healthcare gets designed and delivered.

For families and teens who have felt unheard by traditional healthcare systems, these partnerships represent a meaningful shift toward care that actually listens and responds to their real needs.