Researchers say YEAH! to improving the lives of young people across Europe

Glasgow Caledonian University researchers and partners from across Europe have secured more than £8 million from the European Union to co-create behavioural coaches to improve the health of children and adolescents throughout Europe.

They have launched a new five-year project, entitled YEAH! (Youth Health from a Holistic Perspective), to create a unique digital platform aimed at empowering young people to make better lifestyle choices, particularly those living in areas of multiple deprivation.

The project is being led by the University of Grenoble Alps in France and involves 16 organisations, including Glasgow Caledonian, representing 10 countries across Europe.

The ambition of YEAH! is to co-create personalised digital behavioural coaches for children aged 8-10 and adolescents aged 14-16 years across Europe to improve their nutrition, sleep, physical activity and social relationships.

Researchers in Glasgow Caledonian’s School of Health and Life Sciences' Research Centre for Health (ReaCH) Health CASCADE are playing a pivotal role in the new project. They have been awarded £1m of the funding to use their evidence-based co-creation methodology to build the foundations of the project.

Health CASCADE lead Professor Sebastien Chastin and Senior Lecturer in Psychology Dr Bryan McCann will be heavily involved over the five years but for the first two, they will be establishing co-creation laboratories and coordinating research in six different countries.

They will run a massive randomised trial involving behavioural experts from France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, the UK and Romania, and are seeking advice from more than 7,000 people who work with young people, from parents and teachers to healthcare professionals and local authorities, to find out the needs of children in each country.

Dr McCann’s role will be to reach out to those who work with children and parents to help develop a personalised prototype of a behavioural coach that will work in Scotland, and coordinate the research in the six trial countries.

Professor Chastin said: “There’s a real emergency in acting for and on behalf of young people towards a healthier lifestyle, particularly around their use of digital media and how that impacts on their nutrition, sleep, physical activity, and even on their social relationships to others.

“We are coming in right at the start because of our world-renowned expertise in co-creation and methodology. This is an amazing opportunity to develop something that will change the lives of children and adolescents across Europe and give them to tools to allow them to make good lifestyle choices.

“Bryan has invaluable experience working with young people and those who teach and coach children. He’s also part of our Health CASCADE, so teaming up with him is like a match made in heaven.”

Dr McCann added: “I was delighted that Seb approached me to work together on the exciting YEAH! project. Our collaboration across Europe has a wealth of expertise in areas relating to adolescent health and wellbeing, and Glasgow Caledonian will play a really important part in developing this pioneering solution to improve healthy lifestyles.

“I look forward to drawing on my expertise in knowledge exchange and community engagement with schools and charities to involve children and adolescents as active co-creators of this innovative intervention.”