Wellcome Open Research (Nov 2023)

Kailo: a systemic approach to addressing the social determinants of young people’s mental health and wellbeing at the local level [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

  • Cristina Preece,
  • Dickon Bevington,
  • Pia Barna,
  • Kate Allen,
  • Thomas Booker,
  • Vashti Berry,
  • George Davis,
  • Karuna Davies,
  • Leanne Freeman,
  • Jessica Deighton,
  • Ellen Goddard,
  • Peter Fuggle,
  • Amy Heather,
  • Julie Harris,
  • Krishna Joshi,
  • Mary-France Jardiel,
  • Laura Kennedy,
  • Megan Keenan,
  • Anna March,
  • Tamanna Malhotra,
  • Tamsin Greene Barker,
  • Martin Pitt,
  • Steve Pilling,
  • Nirandeep Rehill,
  • Katie Potter,
  • Rachel Surtees,
  • Jenny Shand,
  • Peter Fonagy,
  • Ediane Santana De Lima,
  • Tim Hobbs

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8

Abstract

Read online

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is deteriorating. It is increasingly recognised that mental health is a systemic issue, with a wide range of contributing and interacting factors. However, the vast majority of attention and resources are focused on the identification and treatment of mental health disorders, with relatively scant attention on the social determinants of mental health and wellbeing and investment in preventative approaches. Furthermore, there is little attention on how the social determinants manifest or may be influenced at the local level, impeding the design of contextually nuanced preventative approaches. This paper describes a major research and design initiative called Kailo that aims to support the design and implementation of local and contextually nuanced preventative strategies to improve children's and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. The Kailo Framework involves structured engagement with a wide range of local partners and stakeholders - including young people, community partners, practitioners and local system leaders - to better understand local systemic influences and support programmes of youth-centred and evidence-informed co-design, prototyping and testing. It is hypothesised that integrating different sources of knowledge, experience, insight and evidence will result in better embedded, more sustainable and more impactful strategies that address the social determinants of young people’s mental health and wellbeing at the local level.

Keywords