According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in five teenagers struggles with mental or behavioural problems, and more than half of all mental illnesses begin in adolescence. Social media, through the mechanism of social comparison, is a source of many tensions and mental problems in young people, and experts point out that even two hours of use increases the risk of depression almost fourfold, as does the use of many different socialmedia platforms.
In Poland, there has been an alarming increase in the need for psychiatric help among young people for many years, and the consequences of a lack of support are dramatic - according to data collected by the Police Headquarters, at least six teenagers attempt suicide every day, although it is worth remembering that these figures may be only the tip of the iceberg, as not all suicide attempts are reported.
Recently, this problem has been recognised and a reform of the mental health care system for children and adolescents is currently being introduced in Poland, and the Ministry of Health has included child and adolescent psychiatry in the group of priority areas, resulting in gradually introduced positive changes and solutions, there are still many areas that, from the patients' point of view, require attention and urgent decisions. In an audit conducted in February 2024 by the Institute for Patient Rights and Health Education (IPPEZ) among patient organisations, the conclusions of which were collected in the report: The patient in the Polish health care system - 2024, important insights into the challenges of the health system were collected. As part of the conclusions collected, patient organisations highlighted the urgent need for health education, with some of the most significant problems reported being those in the field of child psychiatry.
Therefore, in response to the urgent need to improve the state of mental health of children and adolescents in Poland, the growing crisis of which is affecting an increasingly wide range of society, at the initiative of the IPPEZ, representatives of patient organisations working in the field of mental health developed joint recommendations for the health care system, the aim of which is to draw attention to significant challenges that require urgent solutions, as well as to gather proposals for possible solutions to be implemented. Important recommendations include optimising psychiatric care, ensuring universal accessibility to psychiatric treatment by, among other things, reducing waiting times for consultations and free access to health services - including pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, increasing investment in psychiatry, and taking steps to increase the number of specialists and monitoring mental health indicators. An important demand made by the organisations is to guarantee the long-term support of the helpline and to promote sources of support for children and young people in crisis. In addition, the continuation of inter-ministerial dialogue and cooperation is called for.
The document was signed by 7 organisations: Elephants on the Balcony Foundation, Helping Youth and Children with Disabilities "HEY, HORSE!" Foundation, European Centre for Education "PO PROSTU" Foundation, "You can't see past me" Foundation, GrowSPACE Foundation, Light for Life Foundation, Institute for Patients' Rights and Health Education.