Survey: Youth voices are vital for cities
International research suggests solutions for making cities ‘mental health friendly.’Media Contact: Chris Talbott - 206-543-7129, talbottc@uw.edu
Media Contact: Chris Talbott - 206-543-7129, talbottc@uw.edu
A survey published Feb. 21 in Nature asked health experts and young people from 50 countries to identify and prioritize factors that would make cities positive places for the mental health of developing brains.
“When we have a lot of children and adolescents living in these cities, their mental health is left off the table. So we wanted to understand: How do we make and design cities to be friendly for adolescent mental health?,” said Tessa Concepcion, a Ph.D. candidate in global health at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
“We found that one of the most frequently endorsed characteristics from youth in this survey was that youth needed to be included in leadership positions. So it's very reaffirming that the adolescents themselves stated that they need to be in positions of power when it comes to their mental health.”
Learn more about how the survey came together and other takeaways in a blog post.
In downloadable, broadcast-ready soundbites, Concepcion discusses mental health friendly cities.