Surgo Health, a technology and public benefit corporation creating a socio-behavioral analytics platform, has partnered with Melinda Gates' Pivotal and SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios to launch the Youth Mental Health Tracker, a database on youth mental health and wellbeing in the U.S.

The tracker is a data platform designed to highlight where steps need to be taken to address young people's mental health and provide them with insights into the factors that inform their wellbeing. 

The data includes the impact on parents while they seek care for their children, the unique challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community and the complexity of youth mental health. Insights were garnered from over 4,500 individuals aged 20 to 24 who participated in surveys performed by Surgo, which included phone interviews, social media outreach and online panels. 

Accompanying the tracker, Surgo released two white papers, one focused on the tracker and the surveys, and another providing recommendations for policymakers on how to improve the mental health of youth in the nation.

"MTV Entertainment has been harnessing the power of storytelling to spark conversations, inspire action and drive meaningful change on youth mental health for decades," Noopur Agarwal, vice president of social impact at MTV Entertainment Studios, said in a statement. 

"We are thrilled to partner with Surgo Health and Pivotal to bring new data and groundbreaking insights to light that will inform the way we represent mental health in our own content while also supporting the broader entertainment industry in telling authentic stories that better promote the well-being of young people."

THE LARGER TREND

According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2013–2023, performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), four in 10 students (40%) reported experiencing persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and two in 10 (20%) reported they had seriously considered attempting suicide. One in 10 (10%) students attempted suicide.

Other companies focused on youth mental health include virtual care company Teladoc, which partnered with pediatric virtual behavioral health company Brightline in July to extend mental healthcare options for children, adolescents and their families through Teladoc's platform. 

Blackbird, which raised $17 million earlier this year, is a neuroscience-backed hybrid mental health provider for children and young adults. Daybreak Health, a digital mental health company for children and teens that concentrates on schools, raised $13 million in August to scale its youth-focused mental health platform.