An Exeter professor presented her new report on the impact of the pandemic on children and young people's mental health when she gave evidence to the Government's Covid Inquiry yesterday.
Professor Tamsin Newlove-Delgado, Associate Professor in Child Public Mental Health at the University of Exeter, worked with Professor Cathy Creswell at Oxford University on the report. It was written to assist the Inquiry in understanding the impact of the pandemic on children and young people's mental health and wellbeing. The report also provides recommendations on preventing and mitigating the impact of any future pandemic.
In the report, the professors discuss the evidence on the impact of the pandemic on child and adolescent mental health. They make a series of ten recommendations on how governments could respond to future pandemics, including ensuring children and young people are heard: "Children and young people's voices and interests should be represented and respected in all relevant policy… and not be an afterthought. Protecting and promoting health in the early years is a crucial plank of prevention and is an investment in the longer-term health of the nation".
Other recommendations include:
- If measures are required that impact children and young people, these must be proportionate and include clear and specific plans for timely review, mitigation and monitoring. Due weight should be given to the importance and time sensitive nature of child development.
- We echo the words of UNICEF and other organisations that schools should be 'last to close and first to open' wherever possible, and options for maintaining partial attendance should be considered.
- If restrictions on in-person contact are imposed in future, creative approaches and age-appropriate opportunities for meaningful connection and play are required.
- Investment in strengthening the system as a whole is essential to prevent and treat mental health problems in children and young people, and to address persisting inequalities in child health.
