Two and a half years into a global pandemic and with climate anxiety increasingly on the rise, maintaining good mental health has never been harder – or more important.
A recent health survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed almost 19% of people aged 15 to 24 had anxiety and 14% had depression in 2020-21.
iyan, an Australian company committed to supporting youth wellbeing, is trying to tackle this trend. Through an Investment NSW COVID-19 TechVoucher, UTS partnered with iyarn to develop a practical, rigorous evaluation framework of the evidence base underpinning iyarn’s digital ‘check-in’ tool. The tool, designed to support wellbeing practices, is already being adopted by schools across the country.
The partnership with UTS aimed to create a model of how the check-in tool can best be implemented to support youth wellbeing.
“Working with the UTS team on our first major research project for iyarn was a positive experience that we certainly would like to do again. The team UTS put together was perfect with the scope and achieved the desired outcomes which has not only enhanced our product roadmap, but also built up a body of evidence behind the effectiveness of the platform to drive positive change for young people's wellbeing” says Lockie Cooke, iyarn founder and CEO
A research report was developed by UTS and delivered to iyarn in July, with results confirming that check-in apps can build routine and awareness around wellbeing; use of apps can support young people as part of school use; and teachers - and support for them - play an important role in this use.
The report also identified gaps in the research base and made recommendations around future development and possibilities for iyarn to contribute to the research evidence.