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UM OT students & academic staff contribute to study on children's mental health

Last month, four Occupational Therapy students from UM were given the opportunity to join a team of researchers in collecting data in line with as part of the  Empower ME project. 

The "Empower ME: Empowering a mentally healthy generation" initiative is a project by Malta's  that focuses on giving children and youth a platform to participate in policy-making with an emphasis on their mental wellbeing. Dr Nathalie Buhagiar, Prof. Michael Galea and Prof. Josianne Scerri from UM are currently involved in this project forming part of a team of researchers from University College Cork led by Dr Aine O'Donovan.

In addition, Dr Buhagiar from the Department of Occupational Therapy together with Nell Fingleton, a Research Assistant on this project,  also took part in Focus Group discussions as part of this national study. 

The goal of this focus group was to  gain a deeper understanding of the challenges contributing to the rise of mental health difficulties among children in Malta and Gozo. Participants from across sectors came together to share experiences and insights on children’s mental health , identify social, structural, and policy-related challenges and offer practical recommendations to shape a holistic and sustainable national response.