Multidisciplinary perspectives on personalised prevention in youth mental health

Abstract

The pervasive impact of mental illnesses extends beyond individual suffering, affecting families, communities, and societies at large. Prevention efforts are imperative to mitigate this burden, promoting well-being and resilience across diverse populations. A particularly vulnerable period is adolescence, which is associated with numerous mental health issues that are exacerbated by declining healthy behaviours as well as socioeconomic inequalities. But adolescence also presents an opportune moment for early intervention. However, recognising warning signs and providing timely support involves considerable hurdles, so innovative prevention measures are needed. Advancements in AI, particularly in emotion recognition, offer promise for early mental health intervention. Yet, current AI achievements fall short in addressing the mental healthcare gap. This vision paper seeks to outline future directions and recommendations for effective preventive approaches by integrating experts of the necessary multidisciplinary field to develop, evaluate and implement novel and promising prevention approaches. Therefore, representatives based in Europe from diverse fields such as clinical psychology, computer science, physical activity, nutrition, economics, entrepreneurship, politics, and digital innovation propose potential avenues to integrate efficient treatment, AI methodology, and comprehensive implementation strategies that align with user needs. Based on a literature review and expert consensus, key ingredients suggested for effective preventive measures for mental health include holistic, individualised, AI-based mHealth interventions, leveraging smart and passive data from digital biomarkers for monitoring and feedback, evaluating cost-effectiveness, conducting participatory research to ensure user acceptance, and identifying barriers and facilitators for integration into regular healthcare systems. By utilising AI-driven interventions for adolescents, we can address the urgent need for preventive mental healthcare, ultimately enhancing the well-being of future generations.