At the heart of YOUTHreach lies a commitment to not only improve youth mental health care, but also to ensure that new solutions are effective, affordable, and sustainable across Europe. This is where our Health Technology Assessment (HTA) work comes in.
Our experts will perform a trial-based and model-based economic evaluation of the three existing interventions – a youth-friendly walk-in centre, a self-help smartphone app, and a hybrid online peer-support platform – across seven European countries.
We analyse not just direct healthcare costs, but also education, employment, and social impacts, providing a true societal perspective. We assess whether interventions meet the needs of vulnerable groups, including those with low socio-economic status, migrant backgrounds, disabilities, or LGBTQ+ identities. Our HTA models are adapted to different European healthcare systems: from strong primary care models to mixed financing structures and thus ensuring real-world applicability. Young people, clinicians, policymakers, and HTA specialists co-create the outcome measures, making sure our assessments reflect what really matters in practice.
Behind this work stands an exceptional team of health economists and HTA researchers from Maastricht University, the London School of Economics and Policy science, and partner institutions, bringing world-class expertise and a passion for transforming evidence into real impact for youth mental health.
By combining comparative effectiveness research with HTA, YOUTHreach will deliver the evidence policymakers and healthcare providers need to make informed decisions. Ultimately, this means investing in youth mental health interventions that not only work, but also deliver lasting value for individuals, communities, and societies.
Feel free to dive into this online course offered by Maastricht University:
From left to right:
Ghislaine van Mastrigt (Maastricht University), Lieke Maas (Maastricht University), David McDaid (LSE), Ayshe Yaylali (Maastricht University), Silvia Evers (Maastricht University) and A-La Park (LSE)
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