Research and Innovation for and with Adolescent Young Carers to Influence Policy and Practice-The European Union Funded "ME-WE" Project

Elizabeth Hanson, Francesco Barbabella, Lennart Magnusson, Rosita Brolin, Miriam Svensson, Stecy Yghemonos, Valentina Hlebec, Irena Bolko, Licia Boccaletti, Giulia Casu, Renske Hoefman, Alice H de Boer, Simone de Roos, Sara Santini, Marco Socci, Barbara D'Amen, Frans Van Zoest, Nynke de Jong, Henk Herman Nap, Yvonne de Jong, Tamara Bouwman, Feylyn Lewis, Tom Parkhouse, Agnes Leu, Daniel Phelps, Elena Guggiari, Vicky Morgan, Francesca Centola, Stephen Joseph, Saul Becker, Elizabeth Hanson, Francesco Barbabella, Lennart Magnusson, Rosita Brolin, Miriam Svensson, Stecy Yghemonos, Valentina Hlebec, Irena Bolko, Licia Boccaletti, Giulia Casu, Renske Hoefman, Alice H de Boer, Simone de Roos, Sara Santini, Marco Socci, Barbara D'Amen, Frans Van Zoest, Nynke de Jong, Henk Herman Nap, Yvonne de Jong, Tamara Bouwman, Feylyn Lewis, Tom Parkhouse, Agnes Leu, Daniel Phelps, Elena Guggiari, Vicky Morgan, Francesca Centola, Stephen Joseph, Saul Becker

Abstract

Young carers are children and adolescents who provide care to other family members or friends, taking over responsibilities that are usually associated with adulthood. There is emerging but still scarce knowledge worldwide about the phenomenon of young carers and the impact of a caring role on their health, social and personal development spheres. This paper provides an overview of the main results from the ME-WE project, which is the first European research and innovation project dedicated to adolescent young carers (AYCs) (15-17 years). The project methods relied on three main activities: (1) a systematization of knowledge (by means of a survey to AYCs, country case studies, Delphi study, literature review); (2) the co-design, implementation and evaluation of a primary prevention intervention addressing AYCs' mental health (by means of Blended Learning Networks and a clinical trial in six European countries); (3) the implementation of knowledge translation actions for dissemination, awareness, advocacy and lobbying (by means of national and international stakeholder networks, as well as traditional and new media). Project results substantially contributed to a better understanding of AYCs' conditions, needs and preferences, defined tailored support intervention (resilient to COVID-19 related restrictions), and significant improvements in national and European policies for AYCs.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04114864.

Keywords: mental health; primary prevention; social exclusion; young carers.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PERT chart of WPs and objectives in the ME-WE project.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The ME-WE project conceptual framework.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) ME-WE app: Homepage includes country-specific news and is the first page that appears when a user starts the app. (b) ME-WE app: Left menu includes pages with relevant information concerning YCs, a log out/log in button and settings where users can change their username, password, text size, etc. (c) ME-WE app: Launchpad menu, a navigation area where the Diary, Stories and the educational resources used in the ME-WE group sessions can be found. (d) ME-WE app: The chat where users can send text messages and pictures in either individual conversations or group conversations.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) ME-WE app: Homepage includes country-specific news and is the first page that appears when a user starts the app. (b) ME-WE app: Left menu includes pages with relevant information concerning YCs, a log out/log in button and settings where users can change their username, password, text size, etc. (c) ME-WE app: Launchpad menu, a navigation area where the Diary, Stories and the educational resources used in the ME-WE group sessions can be found. (d) ME-WE app: The chat where users can send text messages and pictures in either individual conversations or group conversations.

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