Rapid knowledge mobilisation to promote adolescent mental health in the era of COVID-19
Lead Research Organisation:
King's College London
Department Name: Social Genetic and Dev Psychiatry Centre
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic young people have been exposed to established risk factors for psychopathology and have been struggling to access support from schools and CAMHS. Existing psycho-educational materials typically targeted parents to deliver support to their children or adolescents. This passive transfer of information is unlikely to work well with older adolescents (14-24 years), who progressively separate from their parents and strive to gain agency. To support young people's mental health, we will co-produce novel, engaging psycho-educational materials with adolescents and creative professionals, and rapidly disseminate them widely across the UK.
First, we will capitalise on the wealth of data emerging from ongoing longitudinal surveys to capture young people's voices about their mental health concerns and on our expertise in identifying and delivering evidence-based interventions.
Second, we will work with young people to prioritise the mental health concerns and to ensure that the content built from evidence-based interventions is clear and relevant. We will then work with young people and creative professionals to produce the materials in the most engaging way.
Third, we will disseminate the materials produced widely thought social media campaigns and our established links with voluntary organisations across the UK. The materials will also be disseminated across all devolved nations in partnership with local senior clinicians.
This work will be responsive to the changing mental health needs of young people in the months ahead. We have also ensured that content development, production, and dissemination can be undertaken both in-person or remotely, maximising feasibility.
First, we will capitalise on the wealth of data emerging from ongoing longitudinal surveys to capture young people's voices about their mental health concerns and on our expertise in identifying and delivering evidence-based interventions.
Second, we will work with young people to prioritise the mental health concerns and to ensure that the content built from evidence-based interventions is clear and relevant. We will then work with young people and creative professionals to produce the materials in the most engaging way.
Third, we will disseminate the materials produced widely thought social media campaigns and our established links with voluntary organisations across the UK. The materials will also be disseminated across all devolved nations in partnership with local senior clinicians.
This work will be responsive to the changing mental health needs of young people in the months ahead. We have also ensured that content development, production, and dissemination can be undertaken both in-person or remotely, maximising feasibility.
Technical Summary
During the COVID-19 pandemic young people have been exposed to established risk factors for psychopathology and have been struggling to access support from schools and CAMHS. Existing psycho-educational materials typically targeted parents to deliver support to their children or adolescents. This passive transfer of information is unlikely to work well with older adolescents (14-24 years), who progressively separate from their parents and strive to gain agency. To support young people's mental health, we will co-produce novel, engaging psycho-educational materials with adolescents and creative professionals, and rapidly disseminate them widely across the UK.
First, we will capitalise on the wealth of data emerging from ongoing longitudinal surveys to capture young people's voices about their mental health concerns and on our expertise in identifying and delivering evidence-based interventions.
Second, we will work with young people to prioritise the mental health concerns and to ensure that the content built from evidence-based interventions is clear and relevant. We will then work with young people and creative professionals to produce the materials in the most engaging way.
Third, we will disseminate the materials produced widely thought social media campaigns and our established links with voluntary organisations across the UK. The materials will also be disseminated across all devolved nations in partnership with local senior clinicians.
This work will be responsive to the changing mental health needs of young people in the months ahead. We have also ensured that content development, production, and dissemination can be undertaken both in-person or remotely, maximising feasibility.
First, we will capitalise on the wealth of data emerging from ongoing longitudinal surveys to capture young people's voices about their mental health concerns and on our expertise in identifying and delivering evidence-based interventions.
Second, we will work with young people to prioritise the mental health concerns and to ensure that the content built from evidence-based interventions is clear and relevant. We will then work with young people and creative professionals to produce the materials in the most engaging way.
Third, we will disseminate the materials produced widely thought social media campaigns and our established links with voluntary organisations across the UK. The materials will also be disseminated across all devolved nations in partnership with local senior clinicians.
This work will be responsive to the changing mental health needs of young people in the months ahead. We have also ensured that content development, production, and dissemination can be undertaken both in-person or remotely, maximising feasibility.
People |
ORCID iD |
Andrea Danese (Principal Investigator) |
Title | Keep Cool, Film 1 -- Anxiety |
Description | This is the first of our three co-produced videos on emotions in young people, focusing on anxiety. The aim is to engage young people in thinking and talking about emotions and to provide coping advices. The videos were/are distributed through a social media campaign as well as traditional media and professional network. It will link to a webpage with additional online resources for young people and clinicians |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Impact | The video was released on 19th March 2021. In less then one year, it has been viewed more than 250,000 times on YouTube alone |
URL | https://youtu.be/Mz8P37t-1fU |
Title | Keep Cool, Film 2 -- Sadness |
Description | This is the second of our three co-produced videos on emotions in young people, focusing on sadness. The aim is to engage young people in thinking and talking about emotions and to provide coping advices. The videos were/are distributed through a social media campaign as well as traditional media and professional network. It will link to a webpage with additional online resources for young people and clinicians |
Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Impact | The video was released on 13th May 2021. In less then one year, it has been viewed more than 500,000 times on YouTube alone |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFds4FMYv3c&t=1s |
Title | Keep Cool, Film 3 -- Anger |
Description | This is the third of our three co-produced videos on emotions in young people, focusing on anger. The aim is to engage young people in thinking and talking about emotions and to provide coping advices. The videos were/are distributed through a social media campaign as well as traditional media and professional network. It will link to a webpage with additional online resources for young people and clinicians |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Impact | The video was released on 30th July 2021. In less then one year, it has been viewed nearly 300,000 times on YouTube alone |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJc7aqJN75Y&t=4s |
Description | The award has promoted better understanding of emotions and coping strategies in adolescents, providing a new model to co-design and co-produce educational materials with young people. The dissemination strategy through social media has been very successful, with more than 1M view on YouTube alone and many more across Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. The links to the social media handles are on the main project website https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/keepcool. The project has been discussed as an example of good practice to develop universal psycho-educational materials internationally (e.g., Ukraine, Ghana). |
Exploitation Route | It is possible to test use of KeepCool materials as low-intensity interventions for young people who are on waiting lists for assessment and treatment or seek mental health support at university. It is also possible to use the co-development model and the content of KeepCool in other countries with relevant cultural and language adjustments. Clinical and international collaborators have expressed interest in these opportunities. |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Healthcare |
URL | https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/keepcool |
Description | Findings from the award have been widely viewed, shared, and commented upon on social media (1M views on YouTube only). This has contributed to normalising difficult emotions in adolescents and providing effective coping strategies -- ultimately fighting mental health stigma in the population |
First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Healthcare |
Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
Description | Co-design of psycho-educational resources for mental health resilience with young people |
Organisation | McPin Foundation |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | My team has contributed clinical expertise to identify evidence based recommendations. |
Collaborator Contribution | McPin Foundation has coordinated input from young people to create narratives guided by evidence base and supported the production of material to appeal and engage young people |
Impact | the production is in progress at present |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Collaborating with young people on the creation of educational materials aimed at helping them deal with negative emotions -- UKRI Emerging Minds Mental Health Network |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | UKRI Emerging Minds Mental Health Network |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://emergingminds.org.uk/collaborating-with-young-people-on-the-creation-of-educational-material... |
Description | Emotional symptoms and disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 International Conference of the Brazilian Association of Pediatric Neurology, Psychiatry, and Related Professions (ABENEPI). |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | 2021 International Conference of the Brazilian Association of Pediatric Neurology, Psychiatry, and Related Professions (ABENEPI). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Helping adolescents deal with strong emotions -- UKRI eNurture Mental Health Network blog |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | UKRI eNurture Mental Health Network blog |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.enurture.org.uk/blog/2021/6/8/keepcool-helping-adolescents-deal-with-strong-emotions |
Description | KeepCool: Co-producing psycho-educational material on emotions for young people. 2021 E. Miller conference, The Association for Child & Adolescent Psychiatry ( ACAMH). |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Annual meeting of the Association for Child & Adolescent Psychiatry ( ACAMH) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.acamh.org/event/miller21/ |
Description | Youth Mental Health & COVID-19 -- UKRI Emerging Minds Mental Health Network |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | UKRI Emerging Minds Mental Health Network event |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://emergingminds.org.uk/youth-mental-health-covid-19-the-evidence-base-1-overall-trends/ |