Objectives
The mental health of young people is increasingly under threat. In 2022, 53 per cent of children and young people in Austria reported frequent symptoms such as dejection, nervousness, bad temper or sleeping disorders (HBSC 2021/22). Especially girls, non-binary young people, students from lower income households and young persons with migration backgrounds. These numbers point to the importance of effective strategies, evidence-based programmes and demand-oriented provisions for the mental health promotion among young people.
The Competence centre for the future of health promotion has initiated the development of a road map for the promotion of mental health of young people. This road map will provide strategies, facilitate the coordination of various stakeholders and initiate major provisions. It refers to the Austrian health objective 9 ("Promotion of mental health“), goal 1 ("To promote and sustain the mental health and wellbeing of the Austrian population, environments and life competencies will be strengthened by systematic and structural approaches“).
Implementation
To promote the participation of young people and collect their vies and ideas for the road map, queraum carried out focus groups and workshops with students, trainees, college students and young workers. Young people from vulnerable groups also participated. In two participation rounds issues such as health care, family, education, out-of-school provisions, companies and digitization were discussed.