San Francisco, California, United States – The Public Library of Science (PLOS) and the Digital Transformations for Health Lab (DTH-Lab), today announced a strategic partnership between the organizations to increase youth participation in science to include mentorship opportunities, amplifying youth voices in scientific publishing and building a body of research in digital health citizenship with a mini-collection.
“This strategic partnership with DTH-Lab will ensure that the youth is empowered to shape the medical knowledge system. We, in the business of knowledge validation and dissemination, have failed to address the age-old issues in healthcare: lack of systems and design thinking training among clinicians, human biases in decision-making, power structures within legacy systems, perverse incentive structures (financing, academia),” said Leo Anthony Celi, Editor-in-Chief, PLOS Digital Health.” “We have suffered from failure of collective imagination because everyone thinks alike. We, in academia, cannot see the whole picture because our blind spots overlap. We need people with different blind spots so we can begin to see the image in the jigsaw puzzle. If everyone is thinking alike, then everyone is not thinking. This is where the perspective of the youth can make a huge difference.”
“We are excited to partner with PLOS to strengthen our mission to extend opportunities for young people to help shape scientific research and policymaking for improved health futures,” said Aferdita Bytyqi, Executive Director, DTH-Lab. “This is a timely collaboration that aims to diversify youth voices and cultivate youth leadership. PLOS is an exemplary partner that will bolster the promotion of young thought leaders on issues related to digital and health governance.”
The DTH-Lab’s cohort of Regional Youth Champions (RYC) are key partners who help support young people at the local and regional level to become informed and enfranchised digital health citizens through concerted efforts that capture and reflect their diverse views and experiences. In addition to the RYC cohort, the DTH-Lab has a youth network of over 300 young people from around the world.
The partnership will include:
About Digital Transformations for Health Lab (DTH-Lab)
Need official boilerplate: DTH-Lab is a global consortium of partners working to drive implementation of The Lancet and Financial Times Commission on Governing Health Futures 2030’s recommendations for value-based digital transformations for health co-created with young people. The DTH-Lab’s cohort of Regional Youth Champions (RYC) are key partners in DTH-Lab’s work.
About the Public Library of Science
PLOS is a nonprofit, open access publisher empowering researchers to accelerate progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication. Since our founding in 2001, PLOS journals have helped break boundaries in research communication to provide more opportunities, choice, and context for researchers and readers. For more information, visit http://www.plos.org.
About PLOS Digital Health
PLOS Digital Health is an interdisciplinary Open Access journal publishing boundary-breaking original academic and clinical research that uses open science practices, digital tools, technologies, and data science to significantly advance human health and health care. The journal publishes primary research articles, commissioned opinions and reviews that explore digital health tools, methods, data and curation that advance health care technologies and decision-making or broaden accessible, effective care options for diverse communities around the world.
CONTACTS
Tomiwa Akinsanya, Project Coordinator at the Digital Transformations for Health Lab, is passionate about using digital technologies and innovative behavioral sciences to enhance global youth health. Tomiwa has worked with respected organizations dedicated to advancing digital health and youth well-being globally. With almost a decade of experience, a B.Sc in Physiology and a Masters in Public Health, she applies specialized skills in research, project management, communication, stakeholder management, and advocacy to improve health systems for the benefit of all. Her core values are aligned with Innovation, Empathy, Creativity, Integirty, Team Work and Excellence.
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