The Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) Child Health Project formulated policy recommendations titled, “Strengthening Mental Health Care for Kindergarten Teachers, Nursery School Teachers, Other Child Care Providers and Parents and Guardians of Preschoolers.” For details, please view the PDF provided bottom.

Starting in FY2020, HGPI has emphasized children’s health as a key item on the health policy agenda while advancing its Children’s Health Project. In that project, we have gathered domestic and global opinion leaders and related organizations from industry, Government, academia, and civil society in this field for advisory board meetings, hearings, and expert meetings. Together, we have worked to build quantitative data by conducting intervention surveys among elementary and middle school students, to crystallize current issues and discussion points in health policy based on that data, and to consider which direction to set for addressing those issues. While doing so, we have maintained a steady focus on mental health as a priority health item for children that is closely related to physical and mental development and socioeconomic issues. As a result of these activities, the Children’s Health Project released its first set of policy recommendations in June 2022, titled, “Four Recommendations for Prevention and Support in Children’s Mental Health – HGPI’s View on Children’s Mental Health Policy.”

Those recommendations outlined the need for seamless, comprehensive support from pregnancy to childbirth and until adulthood that is based on points of view centered on individuals and that encompass the entire life course to help children grow up healthy. They also emphasized the need to create more opportunities to provide education on mental health for adults who work with children, especially those in support roles.

With our focus on mental health, a crucial aspect of physical and mental development for children that is closely related to socioeconomic issues, our FY2022 activities continued efforts from FY2021 for establishing a support system that operates from the early preschool period to provide more opportunities for early detection and intervention for mental disorders. With support from the Nippon Foundation, we designed and conducted an educational program on mental health for kindergarten teachers, nursery school teachers, and others who support preschool-aged children and conducted a study to verify the program’s effectiveness. Based on the results of that effectiveness assessment, in addition to preparing a booklet on mental health for families, we will also compile key perspectives on supporting children’s mental health in the form of policy recommendations. By disseminating those recommendations to policymakers and similar parties, we will aim to contribute to better health for children.

■Overviews of Policy recommendations

Perspective 1: Kindergarten and nursery school teachers must be provided education, counseling and support as professionals who support the lives of children

1-1: The need for further evidence-based mental health education in kindergarten and nursery school teacher training programs

1-2: The need for regular, practical mental health education and training in early childhood education and child care settings

1-3: The need to establish a system of support and collaboration at the regional level so that children, parents and guardians can be offered a support system in a sustainable way that does not place an undue burden on facilities

1-4: The importance of developing a system for kindergarten and nursery school teachers to consult with experts for their own mental health care

Perspective 2: Parents and guardians must deepen their understanding and take care of both their child’s mental health and their own

2-1: The need to ensure that parents and guardians have continuous access to information on children’s mental development and health and that they have opportunities for timely and appropriate counseling and support regarding their children

2-2: The need to ensure that parents and guardians have continuous access to information on mental health and stress management for themselves and that they have opportunities for timely and appropriate counseling and support for their own mental health care

2-3: The need to centralize information so that parents and guardians responsible for raising children can easily obtain information regarding their child’s mental health and their own