Understanding the Health and Wellbeing of Young People in Informal Settlements in Freetown, Sierra Leone – A Community-based Participatory Study

The world population is becoming increasingly urban with an expected growth of over 60% by 2050. Young people account for a large proportion of the population in low and middle-income countries particularly in informal settlements, and face several challenges to their health and well-being, including good housing, basic healthcare services, and education. Yet, little research has been conducted into their health and well-being and in consequence young people’s health and wellbeing is not well understood. Most previous research has been far from participatory, excluding young people from the planning, implementation and dissemination of results.