The UJA researcher is part of the working group that addresses the axis on integral health and quality of life, within this participatory process led by the Youth Institute (INJUVE) of the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030.
08/10/2021.- Luis Joaquín García, professor at the University of Jaén (UJA) and head of the Network for the Promotion of Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing in Young People (PROEM), together with other researchers and organizations, is participating in the design of the Youth Strategy 2021 – 2030, which is being led by the Youth Institute (INJUVE) of the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030.
The UJA researcher is part of the group of experts appointed by INJUVE and distributed by thematic working committees, which coincide with the axes of the Strategy: inclusive education and training; autonomy, decent employment and youth entrepreneurship; emancipation, housing and life project; integral health and quality of life; youth groups at serious risk of social exclusion; youth and global transformation, participation and volunteering; youth governance and cooperation; youth mobility, emigration and return; youth and rural world; and youth and gender perspective.
Specifically, Luis Joaquín García is contributing to the strategic document of the axis that deals with integral health and quality of life. The goal of this axis is to guarantee youth the right to health, through their access to health services adapted to their needs, comprehensive care for mental health problems, the promotion of healthy lifestyles and affective-sexual autonomy. “In relation to mental health care and suicide prevention, a significant and growing number of young people express concern about the prevalence among their peers of mental health problems, with high levels of stress, anxiety, depression and other mental disorders. Young people mention the social pressures they face today and express the need for better mental health coverage for youth,” explains Luis Joaquín García.
In this regard, Luis Joaquín García stresses that “emotional problems such as depression and anxiety reduce life satisfaction to a greater extent than physical illnesses and are the greatest contributor to suicide”. Despite this, he highlights the lack of attention to identify and prevent child and adolescent mental health problems. “Therefore, it is necessary that the administrations prioritize plans that address mental health, particularly among young people, both in primary prevention and intervention in the face of clinical problems. We also advocate the importance of training teachers and healthcare personnel to identify young people with emotional problems, or at risk of suffering them, by mental health professionals with accredited training in the child and adolescent population,” he points out.
The first telematic meeting of this working group, which aims to guarantee the health and mental wellbeing of young people, prevent mental problems, suicidal behavior and self-harm, end the stigmatization of mental health problems and prevent drug use and addictions among the young population, among other priority objectives, was held on October 1. Luis Joaquín García was joined by representatives of Doctors for the World, the Spanish League of Education and Popular Culture, the Queen Sofia Center on Adolescence and Youth, the Health Education Foundation (FUNDADEPS), the Foundation for Help against Drug Addiction (FAD) and FRESNO.
October 10 – International Mental Health Day
This Sunday, October 10, the International Mental Health Day is commemorated worldwide. In this framework, from the PROEM Network coordinated by UJA, the initiatives DAREMOS and PROCARE, which aim to help young people at risk of suffering emotional problems such as anxiety or depression, are active thanks to the funding obtained in national and regional projects.
From October 9 to 12, several researchers from the Department of Psychology of the UJA and members of the PROEM Network will participate as speakers at the 39th edition of the International Youth Meetings in Cabueñes (Gijón). In this meeting and discussion forum for young people, associations, technical staff and youth policy makers, UJA researchers will develop one of the seminars under the title “Addressing the health and emotional well-being of young people in the post-pandemic era”.
