Lessons Learned Applying the Icelandic Prevention Model to Youth Mental Health and Well-Being in Idaho.

Abstract

Background: The US is facing a youth mental health crisis. The Icelandic prevention model (IPM) may represent one promising way to address it. This paper describes using the IPM to promote youth mental health, with special attention given to the guiding principle of "embracing public schools as the natural hub of community efforts to support children and adolescents."

Contributions to practice: Communities for Youth (C4Y) leads academic-community partnerships that facilitate community-level approaches to improving youth mental health. While implementing the IPM, C4Y has learned valuable lessons about using the model to address youth mental health, particularly in intervention-hesitant communities. Opportunities and challenges are identified and addressed within the 10 steps of the IPM approach.

Implications for school health policy, practice, and equity: Using the IPM as a primary prevention approach to promote youth mental health may help schools and communities build shared understanding with families, enhance community partnerships, and improve the environments students live and learn in.

Conclusions: C4Y has demonstrated the potential of using the IPM to foster upstream prevention and improve youth mental health. Despite facing challenges, the initiative has achieved promising early outcomes, including reductions in moderate to severe depression symptoms and 6-month suicide ideation.