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

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

doi:10.3390/ijerph19169932

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

Authors

Elizabeth Hanson

Francesco Barbabella

Lennart Magnusson

Rosita Brolin

Miriam Svensson

Valentina Hlebec

Irena Bolko

Licia Boccaletti

Giulia Casu

Renske Hoefman

Alice H. De Boer

Simone De Roos

Sara Santini

Marco Socci

Barbara

Frans Van Zoest

Nynke De Jong

Henk Herman Nap

Yvonne De Jong

Tamara Bouwman

Feylyn Lewis

Tom Parkhouse

Agnes Leu

Daniel Phelps

Elena Guggiari

Stecy Yghemonos

Francesca Centola

Vicky Morgan

STEPHEN JOSEPH STEPHEN.JOSEPH@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Professor

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.

Citation

Hanson, E., Barbabella, F., Magnusson, L., Brolin, R., Svensson, M., Hlebec, V., …Becker, S. (2022). Research and Innovation for and with Adolescent Young Carers to Influence Policy and Practice—The European Union Funded “ME-WE” Project. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(16), Article 9932. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19169932

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jul 5, 2022
Online Publication Date	Aug 11, 2022
Publication Date	Aug 11, 2022
Deposit Date	Jul 11, 2022
Publicly Available Date	Aug 22, 2022
Journal	International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Print ISSN	1661-7827
Electronic ISSN	1660-4601
Publisher	MDPI
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	19
Issue	16
Article Number	9932
DOI	https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19169932
Public URL	https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/8948078
Publisher URL	https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/9932