79504An effective, data driven, interoperable, early intervention to tackle the covid related decline in youth mental healthClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKPrior to the outbreak of COVID-19 youth mental health services globally were already overstretched and unfunded (WHO\_2018). Mental illness in young people costs the public purse up to £63,878 per person, pa (Suhrcke\_2008). During COVID-19 the need for support has increased, whilst access to support has declined (Young\_Minds\_2020). There is already evidence of increased childhood depression during lockdown ([Bignardi\_2020][0]\_[Cortina\_2020][1]). Since March 20th, engagement on MeeTwo has increased by 30% and high risk posts have increased by 65%. COVID has created multiple co-occurring risk factors that increase the likelihood of mental health difficulties (e.g., parental job loss, marital conflict, bereavement). The aggregation of this risk will only unfold over time so early intervention is crucial [(Wade, 2020)][2]. Early intervention helps prevent young people reaching crisis point and decreases the likelihood of long-term mental ill health in adulthood (RCON 2017). Post COVID-19 it is critical that the UK exploit innovative methods of prevention, intervention and service delivery. MeeTwo is a multi-award winning peer support app for people aged 11-25\. It already supports 35k young people and is featured on the NHS Apps Library. MeeTwo Connect is a new service, launched during lockdown, which enables young people to connect to their school, university or NHS mental health provider from within the app. MeeTwo and MeeTwo Connect are innovative because they provide anytime, anywhere access to multiple interoperable psychological support options. Launched in 2017, the MeeTwo data set is now big enough to provide longitudinal insights into the impact of the pandemic. We urgently need to develop a suite of data reporting tools and undertake independent impact evaluation so that we can fully exploit the value of our data. The integration of Machine Learning and advanced data analytics techniques will improve understanding of youth mental health following COVID-19 and increase our capacity to help users access appropriate services. This project directly addresses the mental health issues arising from COVID-19\. With a better understanding of our data we can identify how COVID-19 has damaged youth mental health and deliver targeted support by issue, location, gender and age. Early intervention for the 37% of young people referred to CAMHS but discharged following assessment would slash CAMHS waiting lists. In 2017/18, 69% of young people referred to CAMHS did not receive treatment within a year (Children's Commissioner 2018). The provision of easily accessible, high quality, evidence based mental help for all young people will reduce the burden on school and university counsellors, CAMHS and IAPT; freeing up counsellors and clinicians to focus on those with greatest need. Data reporting tools developed with this research will make it easier to share data with institutions to inform and improve their services. This 9-month Experimental/Industrial Research project, run in partnership with The Anna Freud Centre and Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust will ensure that MeeTwo Connect is fully equipped to play a leading role in the post COVID-19 recovery. [0]: https://osf.io/v7f3q/ [1]: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/evidence-based-practice-unit/sites/evidence-based-practice-unit/files/coronavirus_emerging_evidence_issue_2.pdf [2]: https://ucl-new-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=TN_elsevier_sdoi_10_1016_j_psychres_2020_113143&context=PC&vid=UCL_VU2?=en_US&search_scope=CSCOP_UCL&adaptor=primo_central_multiple_fe&tab=local&query=any,contains,mental%20health%20youth%20covid&offset=0