Making cities mental health friendly for adolescents and young adults.

Journal: Nature

Volume: 627

Issue: 8002

Year of Publication: 2024

Affiliated Institutions:  Climate Mental Health Network, Annapolis, MD, USA. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia. Wellcome Trust, London, UK. Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Duke University, Durham, NC, USA. Fajara Associates, London, UK. Sacramento County Board of Education, Sacramento, CA, USA. Department of Population Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. Healthy Brains Global Initiative, Nairobi, Kenya. Teach for Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal. citiesRISE, New York, NY, USA. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. The TruePoint Center, Boston, MA, USA. Mental Health America, New York, NY, USA. Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. Sun Yat Sen University, Guangzhou, China. Grand Challenges Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Good South Social Impact Enterprise, Durban, South Africa. Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya. Orygen, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Ecole de Sante Publique, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health, London, UK. Dumbarton Oaks, Harvard University, Washington, DC, USA. Centre for Adolescent Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. pamela.collins@jhu.edu.

Abstract summary 

Urban life shapes the mental health of city dwellers, and although cities provide access to health, education and economic gain, urban environments are often detrimental to mental health. Increasing urbanization over the next three decades will be accompanied by a growing population of children and adolescents living in cities. Shaping the aspects of urban life that influence youth mental health could have an enormous impact on adolescent well-being and adult trajectories. We invited a multidisciplinary, global group of researchers, practitioners, advocates and young people to complete sequential surveys to identify and prioritize the characteristics of a mental health-friendly city for young people. Here we show a set of ranked characteristic statements, grouped by personal, interpersonal, community, organizational, policy and environmental domains of intervention. Life skills for personal development, valuing and accepting young people's ideas and choices, providing safe public space for social connection, employment and job security, centring youth input in urban planning and design, and addressing adverse social determinants were priorities by domain. We report the adversities that COVID-19 generated and link relevant actions to these data. Our findings highlight the need for intersectoral, multilevel intervention and for inclusive, equitable, participatory design of cities that support youth mental health.

Authors & Co-authors:  Zeitz Uribe-Restrepo Wolpert Unützer Queen Omigbodun Moitra Ochieng McDermott Lefkowitz Kumar Juma Khanal Hughsam Dua Foote Davis Bustamante Chen Bardikoff Booysen Anand Atwoli Herrman de Leeuw Mensa-Kwao McCay Way Concepcion Patton Collins Sinha

Study Outcome 

Source Link: Visit source

Statistics
Citations :  Gruebner O, et al. Cities and mental health. Deutsch. Arztebl. Int. 2017;114:121–127.
Authors :  32
Identifiers
Doi : 10.1038/s41586-023-07005-4
SSN : 1476-4687
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
Adolescent
Other Terms
Study Design
Study Approach
Country of Study
Kenya
Publication Country
England