Funding outcome

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and associated public health measures have disrupted the lives of most Canadians. In the absence of a vaccine, public health measures (e.g., social distancing, isolation) have been implemented to prevent and reduce the spread of the virus. The impacts of these measures on the mental health of adolescents remain relatively unknown. Emerging data shows poorer levels of mental health among young people in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding the effects of public health measures is a crucial step toward informing adolescent mental health services, supports, and strategies. To our knowledge, there is virtually no research to date on how the COVID-19 pandemic measures has affected the mental health of adolescents in Alberta. To address this gap, we will investigate the everyday lives and experiences of adolescents in Alberta during the pandemic; explore the perspectives of adolescents on how the pandemic has influenced their overall mental health; and create an inventory of services, programs, and supports that were used by young people during and after the pandemic. We will engage young people (age 15-19 years) at the outset as Youth Research Collaborators (YRCs) and mentor them to contribute to the research project. With guidance from our project stakeholders and the YRCs, we will recruit and complete individual interviews with adolescents in Alberta. This research will contribute critical new knowledge to inform current and future adolescent mental health services, programming, and frameworks for community-level pandemic response.