The Path Forward: Emerging Lessons From Validating a Multicountry Population-Level Data Collection Tool to Measure Adolescent and Youth Mental Health

Abstract

Each year, mental health conditions increasingly contribute to the global disease burden [1]. Yet, the historic lack of investment and resources for mental health has limited the availability of reliable and validated tools for measuring outcomes across adolescents and young people, especially in low- and middle-income countries. For example, countries like Nigeria have acknowledged that the absence of population-level data hinders the prioritization and allocation of resources for adolescent mental health [2].