Paper: Toward a Demand-Driven, Collaborative Data Agenda for Adolescent Mental Health

Approximately half of all poor mental health conditions manifest by early adolescence, and available evidence suggests that around 10 to 20 percent of children and adolescents experience one of these conditions. However, serious data gaps remain around the magnitude of the problem, and what countries can do about it.

Existing datasets and research in the field of adolescent mental health do not always meet the needs of practitioners, policymakers, and program implementers, particularly in the context of vulnerable populations. In this paper, the project team introduces a collaborative, demand-driven methodology for the development of a strategic adolescent mental health research agenda. Ultimately, this agenda aims to guide future data sharing and collection efforts that meet the most pressing data needs of key stakeholders.

We asked our colleagues at GovLab to conduct a rapid literature search to summarize common themes in adolescent mental health research into a “topic map”. They then hosted two virtual workshops with a range of international experts to discuss the topic map and identify shared priorities for future collaboration and research.

Their topic map identifies 10 major themes in adolescent mental health, organized into system-level, community-level, and individual-level categories. The engagement of cross-sectoral experts resulted in the validation of the mapping exercise, critical insights for refining the topic map, and a collaborative list of priorities for future research.

This innovative agile methodology enables a focused deliberation with diverse stakeholders and can serve as the starting point for data generation and collaboration practices, both in the field of adolescent mental health and other topics.

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