Comprehensive Pilot Helse project to build the future of digital health services for young people
UngMeistring is a research and innovation project (2022-2026), funded with NOK 25 million from the Research Council of Norway's Pilot Helse programme. The project is led by Helse Bergen, in a consortium with, among others, Helse Fonna, Helse Stavanger, UNN, the University of Bergen, and the Directorate of Health.
The challenge
Young people have had little access to digital health services from the public sector, while demand for help is growing faster than the resources in the services. Reaching young people earlier requires help to come in formats they recognise - on platforms like ung.no, through school health nurses, and through psychologists at BUP (child and adolescent mental health services) - not just through traditional, resource-intensive talk therapy.
How Youwell addressed the challenge
Four digital self-help and guided treatment programmes for young people aged 13-16 have been built on the Youwell platform: Sidekick (for anxiety), ADA for ADHD, Fem gode vaner (Five Good Habits) for depression, and eBalanse for eating disorders. The programmes are designed to be used both directly by citizens and by primary and specialist healthcare services, through a public-private partnership between health services, research groups, educational institutions, and industry.
Results customers experience
- Four completed digital programmes, ready for use in primary and specialist healthcare
- Increased access to evidence-based mental health services for young people who previously had no digital offering
- Better use of resources in the services, through digital technology that meets young people where they are
- PhD work at the ForHelse SFI shows that young people with ADHD can benefit well from digital treatment