Engaging youth as leaders and partners can improve substance use prevention: a call to action to support youth engagement practice and research.

Background: As a subfield of prevention science, substance use prevention researchers and professionals are increasingly focused on translating research into practice, developing the workforce of prevention specialists, and creating a robust prevention infrastructure. One critical need for professional development among the substance use prevention workforce is training and technical assistance around how to include young people in developing, implementing, and evaluating substance use prevention programs.

Main Body: Amplifying youth voices can increase the quality and responsiveness of youth prevention research and practice, as well as hasten and improve the translation of prevention interventions into practice while also benefiting youth themselves.