An EU project to promote the mental health of children and adolescents during pandemics is starting at the Medical Faculty of TU Dresden. The aim is to develop digital training courses for teachers, educators, trainers, sports trainers or group leaders who act at a distance and still have the opportunity to promote mental health.

In autumn 2020, the European Union initiated a special call for projects against the background of the corona pandemic as part of the Erasmus + program. The project "Protecting the mental well being of our children during and after public health emergencies - digital training for teachers and educators" was selected for funding.

The research group Applied Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology in the separate area for Psychosocial Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences at the Medical Faculty, supported by the European Project Center of TU Dresden (EPC), was able to raise more than 280,000 euros for the project.

Together with scientists from Greece, Spain, Italy, Croatia, France and Cyprus, with whom projects have already been successfully implemented in the past, the project will now start in March and will last for two years.

The aim of the project is the development of digital trainings that support all persons involved in the education of children and young people (including teachers, educators, trainers, sports trainers, group leaders of courses, etc.) in their work, if - as during the Covid-19 -Pandemic - interactions must take place at a distance. These training materials are intended to help maintain and promote the mental health of children and adolescents even during times of pandemics and similar health events.

The first step is to analyze training needs and opportunities and at the same time to promote the awareness and ability of teachers and educators to support children and young people in their wellbeing. In order to get closer to this goal, it should be explored how mixed and distance learning can be combined with one another. There are also plans to develop online tools that teachers can use. “The aim is to raise awareness of the topic of promoting the psychological well-being of children and adolescents and to create networks within the entire EU,” explains Professor Hendrik Berth, who heads the project on the part of the Medical Faculty of TU Dresden.

As a result of the research work, a training package for teachers, educators and other educational professionals is to be created that contains teaching and learning texts with associated exercises, presentations and videos. All materials will be made available in seven languages ​​(German, English, Italian, Greek, Spanish, French and Croatian) on a freely accessible digital training platform that has yet to be designed. This tool kit enables educational professionals to adapt the developed materials to other educational contexts as easily as possible.

With this tool kit you would be prepared for new situations in which you have to keep your distance. “In situations like this, it is not just about efficient knowledge transfer, but also about keeping the mental stress on children and adolescents in focus in order to prevent or at least minimize psychological consequential damage,” explains Professor Hendrik Berth.

Contacts:
Psychosocial Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences
Research Group Applied Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology
Prof. Dr. Hendrik Berth
Tel. +49351 4584028
E-Mail:
Website: Psychologische Medizin und Entwicklungsneurowissenschaften