Ashhar Alam/New Delhi

A community-led awareness campaign combined with a digital mental health tool has shown promising results in reducing depression, self-harm tendencies and suicide risks among adolescents living in urban slums, according to a recent study.

The intervention was carried out across 60 slum clusters in New Delhi and Vijayawada, targeting teenagers who often face layered challenges such as poverty, social stigma and limited access to mental health services.

India has the world’s largest adolescent population, around 253 million with a significant proportion experiencing anxiety, depression and related concerns, as per UNICEF estimates. Experts note that young people in low-income urban settings are particularly vulnerable due to social and economic pressures.

To address this gap, researchers from The George Institute for Global Health, New Delhi, implemented the ARTEMIS (Adolescents’ Resilience and Treatment nEeds for Mental Health in Indian Slums) project. The initiative focused on adolescents aged 10 to 19 and explored stress factors ranging from academic pressure and family expectations to peer relationships and gender-related restrictions.

The programme adopted a dual approach. It used locally designed multimedia campaigns to challenge stigma around mental health, while also deploying a digital platform to identify psychological distress and connect at-risk individuals with appropriate care.

Published in JAMA Psychiatry, the study found that participants who underwent the intervention demonstrated improved awareness, attitudes and behaviours related to mental health compared to those who did not. A measurable decline in depression levels was also observed among the intervention group over time.

Researchers highlighted that increased awareness played a key role in reducing stigma, which in turn encouraged help-seeking behaviour. The study also reported statistically significant improvements in behavioural and mental health indicators.

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Despite challenges such as parental hesitation, logistical constraints and social barriers, the model proved both feasible and acceptable within community settings. The findings suggest that integrating awareness campaigns with digital screening tools can be an effective strategy to address adolescent mental health in underserved urban populations.