First steps of this initiative for the promotion of adolescent health and emotional well-being in the education sector, healthcare, youth information services and society at large
26/07/2023.- On June 28, the launch meeting of the project ‘Promoting the health and emotional well-being of adolescents in the educational, health and social sectors’ (PROADEMO), led by the University of Jaen (UJA), was held in Malaga.
The kick-off meeting was attended by UJA professor Luis Joaquín García and UJA researchers Lourdes Espinosa and José Antonio Muela as members of the research team, together with members of the entities that are part of the External Advisory Council (CAE). Specifically, Luis Caballero and Victoria Rodríguez were present as representatives of the Spanish Youth Institute (INJUVE), attached to the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030, Laura Selena Báez, first vice president of the Spanish Youth Council, Eva Reina, Director of the European Youth Information and Counselling Agency, Esteban Redolfi, Director of Strategy and Innovation of the Princess of Girona Foundation, Ana Cobos, president of the Confederation of Organizations of Psychopedagogy and Guidance of Spain (COPOE), Enrique Vargas, president of the Spanish Association for Mutual Help against Social Phobia and Anxiety Disorders (AMTAES), Antonio Lara, vice-president of the Andalusian Association of Youth Technicians (AATJ), Toni Alba, telematically, representing the Integral Health group of the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Trans, Bisexuals, Intersexuals and more (FELGTBI+) and the Asturian Association for the attention and care of children (ASACI).
During the meeting, the research team explained that PROADEMO arises as an element of transfer of knowledge acquired through the PROCARE initiative, to provide recommendations to institutions so that adolescents and their needs are at the center of European and national policies.
In this way, PROADEMO will design and develop a digital training package, aimed at school personnel, youth and health workers, that will enable them to improve their skills and knowledge to establish and provide mental health services to adolescents at risk of developing emotional problems as a result of the pandemic.
Along the same lines, this initiative will develop a set of practical tools for health, education and youth professionals to offer a high quality mental health service; likewise, an emotional support toolkit for young people will be developed, especially focused on adolescents and co-produced in collaboration with them, in order to provide them with strategies to promote resilience, protect their health and emotional well-being and increase their emotional literacy through a friendly and approachable language.
In order to achieve these three objectives, the entities that form part of the External Advisory Council have undertaken to contribute their experience in the field of youth and to make a significant contribution to the preparation of documents that will serve as a reference at the educational, health and youth information levels.
Regarding the development of PROADEMO, “the target population will be, on the one hand, adolescents between 12 and 18 years old, and on the other hand, the staff of schools, health centers and youth professionals, who will have accessible resources and materials to provide support to adolescents”, says Luis Joaquín García, Professor of Psychology at the UJA and main responsible for the project.
Regarding the social impact of the project, Luis Joaquín García explained that “the implementation of PROADEMO will bring about a reduced stigmatization of emotional problems, as well as an increase in emotional literacy, self-regulation, empathy and social skills to contribute to an increase in the resilience of adolescents and an improvement in their emotional well-being.”
PROADEMO (PDC2022-133401-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) is a project led by UJA with funding from the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the State Research Agency and the European Union through the “Next Generation EU” funds within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.
