MENTECH-CARE – Mental Health Enhancement through Co-created Technology-Driven Interventions for Youth

Digital technologies have revolutionised the way young people communicate, learn, and entertain themselves. However, excessive or maladaptive use of digital environments (e.g. social media, AI-driven content platforms, online gaming) is increasingly linked to anxiety, depression, social withdrawal, poor sleep, and disrupted cognitive development among children and young adults. There is a critical lack of evidence-based, scalable, preventive interventions to address this growing public health issue.

Objectives

• O1: Co-create with youth, caregivers, educators, and clinicians a suite of digital and behavioural interventions that prevent mental health deterioration caused by digital overuse or misuse.

• O2: Identify risk patterns and protective factors using AI-enabled monitoring of screen habits, emotional states, and sleep/social behaviour (with full GDPR compliance).

• O3: Clinically evaluate interventions through multi-country pilot studies, including schools, youth clinics, and digital platforms.

• O4: Develop policy recommendations and implementation toolkits for national and EU-level adoption.

• O5: Disseminate results through a youth-led communications strategy and establish a European Youth Mental Health & Tech Alliance.