New project aims to improve young people鈥檚 mental health in the Region of Southern Denmark
Young people in the Region of Southern Denmark will play a key role in a new project aimed at reducing mental health struggles such as loneliness, stress, and low self-esteem. The youth will identify both problems and solutions.
Many young people struggle with mental health issues, and the trend is heading in the wrong direction. Psychological disorders and mental health challenges are widespread among young people in Denmark and have increased overall over the past 10 years.
A new project aims to halt this trend and promote young people's mental health. The project is a collaboration between the Center for Digital Psychiatry in the Region of Southern Denmark, the National Institute of Public Health, and TrygFonden, which has granted 14 million DKK for the initiative.
What makes this project unique is that young people will play a central role, explains Professor Anna Paldam Folker from the National Institute of Public Health:
"It is the young people who will identify mental health struggles and their needs as part of the project. This is vital input that will be used to develop new initiatives to prevent mental illness and strengthen young people's well-being."
To engage and listen to young people, researchers from the National Institute of Public Health will host workshops at upper secondary schools in the Region of Southern Denmark. Here, young participants will discuss their challenges and propose solutions.
In addition, the researchers will analyze over 2,500 post from young people on the Q&A platform on the mental health service Mindhelper.dk.
Mindhelper.dk, which attracts approximately one million visitors annually, is a digital platform where young people can anonymously seek advice on issues ranging from low self-esteem to performance pressure and anxiety.
Searching for Patterns and Answers
According to project researcher Amalie Oxholm Kusier, the analysis of the Q&A posts aim to provide a deeper understanding of the mental health struggles young people face and the solutions they seek:
"Our work will focus on identifying patterns and answers that will create a knowledge base for developing tools and resources that young people find relevant."
Teachers, guidance counselors, and other key individuals working closely with young people will also be interviewed to identify the challenges they encounter, and the tools and resources required to support youth effectively.
New Tools and Content Tailored to Young People
The project’s goal is to develop and test concrete tools and initiatives in collaboration with young people. These may include podcasts, videos, online courses, and articles on Mindhelper.dk, Anna Paldam Folker explains:
"Our experience shows that young people seek inspiration from peers who have faced similar challenges. One idea could be to create content that allows young people to see themselves in the experiences of others. However, it is the young participants that will determine what should be prioritized."
Once these initiatives are developed, their effectiveness will be evaluated to ensure that the most impactful measures can be scaled and benefit even more young people. Participants in the project will be compared to young people who do not receive the interventions.
The project will also include a process evaluation to provide insights into how the initiatives are received by young people and professionals working with young people, as well as how the young participants experienced being involved in the development process.
Contact: Professor Anna Paldam Folker, phone: +45 6550 7860, email: anpf@sdu.dk; Ph.D. student Amalie Oxholm Kusier, phone: +45 6550 7854, email: amok@sdu.dk - National Institute of Public Health, 糖果派对.