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 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:
- Mentorship Opportunities- PLOS’ Digital Health editorial board to provide mentorship opportunities from experienced academics to Regional Youth Champions, including the RYC alumni network. This will include training and guidance in engaging in peer review, as well as opportunities to serve as reviewers on articles submitted to the journal after completion of the training.
- Amplifying Youth Voices in Scientific Publishing- PLOS will invite RYCs to review and write commentaries on papers about research that is relevant to young people’s health and well-being. This could also include a joint editorial between the DTH-Lab and PLOS Digital Health to encourage more diverse and intergenerational perspectives in scientific research.
- PLOS Digital Health Mini-Collection on Digital Health Citizenship- A mini-collection from young authors that will showcase commentaries and opinion pieces focused on building a body of research and diverse perspectives on the concept of digital health citizenship and its application in different contexts. Submissions to the mini-collection will undergo the typical peer review process.
- Tools and Resources for Early Career Researchers- The DTH-Lab and PLOS Digital Health will produce tools and resources specifically for young people looking to engage with scientific publishing around digital health. These may include webinars, videos and other publications on topics such as an introduction to the academic publishing world, how to review a scientific paper and how to write an impactful article.
