The adolescent population between 12 and 18 years old and their families will benefit from this project, funded by the City Council of Marmolejo with the support of the Diputación Provincial de Jaén and presented in the framework of the World Mental Health Day.
10/10/2024.- The University of Jaen launches the second edition of the PROCARE initiative (Selective prevention through a transdiagnostic intervention for adolescents at risk of emotional problems) in the municipality of Marmolejo. This program, funded by the City Council of Marmolejo and the Provincial Council of Jaén, aims to detect emotional problems in the adolescent population between 12 and 18 years of this town and contribute to the improvement of their health and emotional well-being.
The presentation of the renewal of the agreement for the implementation of PROCARE in Marmolejo took place at the Campus Las Lagunillas of the UJA in the framework of the World Mental Health Day and with the presence of the Vice Chancellor of Research and Knowledge Transfer of the UJA, Mª Victoria López, the Professor of Psychology at the UJA and main responsible for PROCARE, Luis Joaquín García, the provincial deputy of Equality and Youth, María Dolores Ruiz, and the mayor of the City of Marmolejo, Manuel Lozano.
In her speech, Mª Victoria López emphasized that “last year it was successfully carried out in the municipality of Marmolejo, which was the first in the province of Jaén and Andalusia to implement this initiative, implemented with excellent results previously in the Balearic Islands and in Jaén and province, and now it will also be implemented in the province of Córdoba”. He also emphasized “the importance for UJA of transferring the results of these projects to society and their economic, scientific and social impact in a week in which we commemorate World Mental Health Day”.
For his part, Luis Joaquin Garcia said that “PROCARE is a pioneering initiative worldwide in the field of prevention and personalized care, being the first selective prevention program aimed at adolescents between 12 and 18 years at risk of emotional problems. At the same time, he expressed the relevance of “the commitment of the institutions to the health and emotional wellbeing of young people”, so that the socioeconomic level of a family is not a determining factor in access to emotional help, which is a right for all citizens.
Next, Manuel Lozano, Mayor of Marmomejo, highlighted that in the first edition “we took an important and successful step in favor of the citizens of our territory” and specified the increased local interest in this program. “This initiative aims to support and help with resources to the young population of Marmolejo to strengthen them emotionally and strengthen their ability to make decisions for the future,” he said.
Finally, María Dolores Ruiz claimed the work of the Provincial Council of Jaén “to build a stronger and healthier youth and youth society so that this issue is no longer taboo” and its role as a provincial administration “pioneer in Andalusia in installing policies and measures at the level of mental health for the benefit of young people in Jaén”.
The research work of PROCARE is supported by the experience of a team of researchers from UJA, formed by Luis Joaquín García, Lourdes Espinosa, José Antonio Muela, David Jiménez, Laura Zafra, and Jesús Sánchez, the researcher from the University of Miami (USA), Jill Ehrenreich-May, as well as a team from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, led by the researcher Josefa Canals and a team from the Universidad Miguel Hernández, led by the researcher José Antonio Piqueras.
PROCARE is an R&D&I project PID 2019-111138RB-I00 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the State Research Agency). In addition, it has an External Advisory Board formed by the Spanish Youth Institute (INJUVE) attached to the Ministry of Youth and Children, the Spanish Youth Council (CJE), the Princess of Girona Foundation (FPdGi), the Youth Group of the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Trans, Bisexuals, Transvestites and Bisexuals (FGBT), the National Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals, Bisexuals, Transvestites and Bisexuals (FGBT), and the Spanish Youth Council (CJE), Gays, Trans, Bisexuals, Intersexuals and more (FELGTBI+), the Confederation of Organizations of Psychopedagogy and Guidance of Spain (COPOE) and the Spanish Association of Mutual Help against Social Phobia and Anxiety Disorders (AMTAES).
