The Navrongo Health Research Centre (NHRC) has called for collective action among institutions, stakeholders and the general public to address depression and anxiety among adolescents, describing the conditions as a serious challenge requiring urgent attention.
The Centre said depression and anxiety had become significant concerns among young people, particularly school-going adolescents, and required coordinated interventions to help address the underlying challenges.
The call was made during a stakeholder engagement on the findings of a research project aimed at assessing the implementation of an intervention to address depression and anxiety among adolescents. The engagement was held at the Navrongo Health Research Centre on Thursday, September 24.
The Interventions for Youth with Depression and Anxiety Disorders in African Countries (Y-Mind Project) is being implemented by the Navrongo Health Research Centre in collaboration with the University of Ghana, the University of Zimbabwe and King’s College London.
The project seeks to address depression and anxiety among adolescents in the Kassena-Nankana area of the Upper East Region.
It targeted school-going adolescents aged between 15 and 24 years and was implemented in four senior high schools in the area.
Speaking in an interview with Mike FM, Dr Raymond Aborigo, Site Lead and Co-Investigator for the Y-Mind Project, said the initiative was necessary because most psychological interventions had traditionally focused on adults.
“We realized that most of the psychological interventions developed were for adults and none for young people. When you get into the schools, many young people are struggling with issues of teenage pregnancies, relationship issues, academics, family issues, among others.”
Dr Aborigo said depression was prevalent in the Ghanaian population, making it important for greater attention to be given to mental health among young people.
He said, “With our population, we’re talking about almost 30% and in the school environment, we’re looking at something similar.”
He warned that leaving depression and anxiety among adolescents unattended could have serious long-term consequences and called for collective efforts to identify, support and treat young people experiencing such challenges.
According to him, the Y-Mind intervention adopted youth-friendly and evidence-based approaches designed to engage adolescents and help them address challenges associated with depression and anxiety.
The stakeholder engagement brought together representatives from the education and health sectors, traditional leaders, youth advocacy groups, parents and students, among other stakeholders.
Mike 105.3FM | Navrongo | David Adapuna
