Interest Holders-Driven Research Priorities in Sexual and Reproductive Health for Migrant and Refugee Adolescents and Young Adults in Australia

BackgroundDespite sustained global commitment to sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), adolescents and young adults from migrant and refugee backgrounds continue to face disproportionate barriers to accessing appropriate services. In Australias multicultural landscape, systemic issues such as cultural stigma, limited sexual health literacy, and inadequate culturally responsive services exacerbate these disparities, highlighting the need for an interest-holder-centred and evidence-informed approach to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) research prioritisation. MethodsThis study employed the James Lind Alliance (JLA) Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) methodology to collaboratively identify and prioritise key research uncertainties in SRH for migrant and refugee adolescents and young adults in Australia. Guided by a multidisciplinary steering committee, the process encompassed five structured stages: partnership formation, literature-based identification of uncertainties, interest holders consultation and refinement, an interim prioritisation survey, and a final consensus workshop. A rapid literature review generated 83 research questions across five domains and twelve thematic areas, which were assessed via two rounds of structured online surveys. Participants included youth interest holders (adolescents and young adults aged 18-24 from migrant and refugee backgrounds), alongside diverse professional interest holders from healthcare, academic, governmental, and community sectors. ResultsA total of 92 participants (31 youth and 61 professionals) completed the initial survey, generating 83 research uncertainties that were refined into 18 indicative questions across five SRH domains. Among youth interest-holders, 74.2% identified as female and 25.8% as male. Professional interest-holders were more gender-diverse, with 49.2% female, 32.8% male, 8.2% transgender, and 9.8% preferring not to disclose. Youth participants predominantly identified psychosocial, community-based, and education-related concerns, while professionals drawn from academic/research (37.7%), health industry organizations (13.1%), healthcare services (44.3%), and NGOs emphasised system-level barriers and challenges in service access. Using median scores, eight questions emerged as shared high priorities across both groups. In the final consensus phase, 11 questions were identified as top priorities, with three receiving high-priority ratings from both youth and professionals. Key areas included male SRH, psychosocial contributors to gender-based violence, culturally tailored education, and community-based maternal health support. Notably, youth participants consistently rated more items as high priority than professionals, reflecting divergent perspectives shaped by lived experience. These results provide an empirically grounded, interest holders-informed SRH research agenda for migrant and refugee youth in Australia. ConclusionThis interest-holders driven priority setting initiative highlights the pressing need for tailored SRH research responsive to the lived experiences of adolescent and young adults of migrant and refugee background in Australia. The identified priorities serve as a foundation for future evidence-based interventions and policy development to advance health equity and service inclusivity.