#WorldMentalHealthDay

This World Mental Health Day we asked our team…

…why do you think mental health is an important topic?

Alex Hutchison:

When was the last time that you were scrolling through your daily news feed and you didn't see a story referencing the increasing global burden of mental health issues? Good mental health improves outcomes in education, employment and health, benefitting children and young people, their families, their communities and society. In Scotland, over three quarters of all mental health problems have their onset before the age of 20, and childhood and adolescence are the key stages for promotion and prevention to lay the foundations for future mental wellbeing. We are in the unique position, as the Data for Children Collaborative with UNICEF, to look at how we can impact well-being through the lens of data within our partnership and through building collaborative teams.

Fraser Macdonald:

Never before has mental health been front and centre in so many people’s daily lives. We have all experienced significant change recently; a change in working pattern, removing the connections to friends and family, or simply hearing more negative news though the media. Understanding how our mental health impacts us, our families, and our communities is a complex challenge that will require a broad range of expertise, knowledge and skills. With respect to children, this issue becomes more challenging as we consider the number of factors effecting young people today; exposure to social media, pressures through education, nutrition, to name just a few! Tackling these issues will require novel and collaborative approaches. At the Data for Children Collaborative with UNICEF, we use data to improve the outcomes for children through Responsible Innovation. I’m excited to explore how data can be leveraged to address the growing mental health issues impacting children today.

Alessandra Fassio:

I’m very proud to be part of a generation that has made immense progress in putting the conversation about mental health front and centre - but there is still more work to do. Now that mental health is no longer such a ‘taboo’ topic and young people are beginning to feel comfortable in talking about their experiences, we need to work to ensure that there are suitable programmes in place that can deliver appropriate care and support for those who need it. Data will play a critical role in providing the detailed insights needed to make this a reality. It is vitally important that children and young people are given the tools to support good mental wellbeing as early as possible, as this will have a lasting impact on their future.

What work are we doing in this area?

Projects:

Gillean McCluskey is leading on our project, ‘In isolation, instead of school’ (INISS): vulnerable children’s experiences of Covid-19 and effects on mental health and education.’ We asked her for a brief overview of the project and its importance given the current climate.

“It is well known that schools often provide structure and safety to all students but also for vulnerable children and young people in particular. Covid 19 has impacted societies as a whole in recent months but it is clear that the effects are uneven and that some groups have been more directly and negatively impacted by the pandemic. While there is a rich literature on the effects of Covid 19 now emerging, there has been no study to date which examines in depth the experiences of young people as learners and the effect of school closures and exam cancellations in lockdown.

Our study, ‘In isolation, instead of school’ (INISS): vulnerable children’s experiences of Covid-19 and effects on mental health and education’ addresses this significant gap in one country context, with a specific focus on school students aged 15-18 who were due to sit national exams in Scotland in May 2020, but who saw these cancelled when the country went into lockdown. Over the last few months our research team has spoken directly with young people through online focus groups and also conducted a nationwide online survey with young people. The results are now being analysed and findings will be made available shortly. As the pandemic continues, the urgency of addressing young people’s mental health and wellbeing becomes ever clearer and our aim is for lessons learned from listening to young people in Scotland to now inform debate and aid policy development internationally.”

You can find out more about the project here.

Impact Collaborations:

We recently launched a Challenge Question under the Mental Health theme - ‘Prevention of Adolescent Mental Health Issues: Is Technology a Possible Source for Good?’

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.  Yet, serious data gaps remain around the magnitude of the problem, and what countries can do about it.

We are looking to leverage data and data science techniques to explore ways online content (including associated platforms and applications) can be used for adolescent mental health prevention-related services.

The topic is multi-layered and involves first assessing how adolescents engage with online content, services; identifying platforms for providing social support to adolescents or chat forums where adolescents convene to discuss issues of relevance to their well-being; and providing recommendations for prevention services. Other possible questions relate to how social media impacts stigma around mental health conditions, and whether, for instance, the use of certain content or search query correlates with or can predict a particular state of mind.

The aim of this collaboration is to understand how online content and social media platforms can be used to prevent adolescent mental health conditions.

Watch this space for more information on how this project progresses!