Protecting mental health in times of change

Europe is in a time of dramatic change, war, economic crisis, climate change, migration, digitalisation, pandemics, ageing and demographic change, place increasing stress and pressure on our societies to adapt to fast-changing situations. Particular vulnerable groups in the general population are especially at risk of being disadvantaged by dramatic societal change, of experiencing particular stressors, and of suffering (further) negative impacts on their wellbeing, including mental health.

Members of MENTBEST have researched, created and delivered community-based interventions to reduce depression and suicidal behaviour. These interventions have been implemented and proven effective in 120 communities across 17 EU countries.

Building on this experience and intervention framework (EAAD 4-Level-Intervention), the MENTBEST consortium will (a) characterise the scale of the change-related mental health challenges; (b) work with patients, healthcare and other stakeholders to identify interventions and tools that can best build resilience and maintain mental health; (c) combine these interventions with an adapted and broadened EAAD 4 Level Intervention into a comprehensive community-based intervention (COMBINA) (d) deliver and validate COMBINA in five model regions, across five countries, with particular analysis of the benefits for vulnerable groups.

An innovative addition will be the RCT of app-based self-monitoring and self-management technologies for mental health, which use AI and n=1 longitudinal statistics to create individualised predictive models and provide users preventive and self-management support.

After validation and process evaluation, enhanced COMBINA will be a ready-to-use package which can be adopted throughout Europe and beyond. MENTBEST will inform a comprehensive communication,dissemination and policy-input programme to maximise impact, building on our relevant experience at all levels, from public outreach to government and EU policy.