Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) has been selected to implement an initiative titled, “Establishing a Skill Development Program and Collaborative Network for Improving Mental Health for Students with Intellectual Disabilities” as part of the Nippon Foundation grant program for FY2024.

HGPI views child health as a key item on the health policy agenda and has been advancing its Child Health Project since FY2020. In that project, we brought together affected parties and various opinion leaders in this field as well as related organizations representing industry, Government, academia, and civil society from Japan and overseas to hold advisory board meetings, interviews, and expert meetings with a continued focus on mental health for children. Mental health is a key topic in child health that is closely related to physical and psychological development as well as to socioeconomic issues. Using quantitative data, we crystallized issues and discussion points in existing health policy and examined potential approaches to addressing them. To gather quantitative data, we conducted intervention surveys with elementary and middle school students in FY2021 and with kindergarten teachers, nursery school teachers, and others who support preschoolers in FY2022. Based on our findings, we presented “Steps for Implementing Children’s Stress Management in Society” in August 2023 in collaboration with the Japan Society of Stress Management.

As we state in those recommendations, we will continue emphasizing the need to provide all children with opportunities to learn practical techniques for stress management as well as the need to provide children with disabilities and their guardians more opportunities to learn about mental health.

With support from the Nippon Foundation, this initiative will develop a skill development program for promoting mental health among students of high school age and with intellectual disabilities as well as verify the program’s effectiveness through its implementation. Our objective will be to establish a mental health support system for children with intellectual disabilities and to create even more opportunities for early detection and intervention for mental disorders. Furthermore, based on the findings of our effectiveness verification, we will compile policy recommendations with necessary perspectives for providing mental health support for children with intellectual disabilities and disseminate those recommendations to policymakers to contribute to promoting child health.