Meaningful co-production with young people: shaping healthcare solutions

Dr Mary Salama, consultant paediatrician at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, discusses her project focused on merging meaningful co-production with young people and systems thinking in healthcare improvement. She highlights the use of symbolic pink glasses to signify this collaborative approach, building on previous years’ pink hats. The project engaged young people from inner-city Birmingham schools to research health and community issues, with students conducting community research and sharing their findings. Dr Salama and her team then applied a human factors or ergonomic filter to this data, using systems thinking to identify emerging themes and inform improvements. The goal is to refine these tools and feedback the findings to enhance the systems supporting young people in their communities. Dr Salama emphasises the importance of involving young people in shaping healthcare solutions and using scientific methods to address inequalities within the system. This interview took place at the RCPCH conference 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland.