The project „Co-designing perinatal mental health support in Tyrol“ led by Dr. Jean Paul (LBG Research Group Village) at the Medical University of Innsbruck addresses the frequent lack of support for parents who are affected by mental stress or illness in the period around the birth of their child. With the transdisciplinary pilot programme #ConnectingMinds, the FWF wants to encourage researchers to work particularly closely with experts from the field; the focus is on jointly solving complex questions of social relevance and promoting collective learning. Five teams (out of 56) were able to prevail in the multi-stage selection process and be selected by the international jury. The projects will be fully funded to explore new approaches in a purely knowledge-driven way, without co-funding from a project partner.

Dr Jean Paul is the leader of the Village research group, which we support and which was initiated and funded though our Open Innovation in Science programme „Ideas Lab“, by focusing on the needs of the affected people thanks to the crowdsurcing campaign „RedenSiemit“.

Open Innovation in Science (OIS) enables benefits for science (e.g. novel insights, more efficient processes, higher impact) as well as for society (exploration of socially relevant issues, bringing science and society closer together) under certain conditions and in alignment with the respective scientific challenge. We at the Open Innovation in Science Center (LBG OIS Center) have been an important part of Austria’s official Open Innovation Strategy for years. In addition to our research, we also offer training and consulting for the scientific community and provide our researchers with the freedom to build up competences, experiment with OIS and thus also be competitive. In this context, we congratulate Dr. Jean Paul very warmly on this great success.

PROJECT INFORMATION:

Co-designing perinatal mental health support in Tyrol

One in five mothers and one in ten fathers is affected by mental illness in the first year after the baby’s birth. Parenthood can be a time of immense personal and social change and many new parents experience increased loneliness. Perinatal mental illness is the most common complication associated with pregnancy. These can have an impact on family and support structures, as well as causing developmental and attachment-related problems. Identifying those affected early and offering them help can have a significant impact on the health and well-being of parents, children, family and the wider social environment.

Scientific Director: Jean Lillian Paul, Medical University of Innsbruck Partner Research Sites: University of Innsbruck, Austrian Institute for Health Technology Assessment GmbH

Practice partners: Frühe Hilfen Tirol, Österreichische Liga für Kinder- und Jugendgesundheit, Eltern-Kind-Zentrum Schwaz, Innocence in Danger, Pro Mente Tirol, Elternbildung Tirol, Hospital St. Vinzenz Zams and more partners 

Funding volume: 1 million euros

Project duration: 5 years

Further information on all projects: https://www.fwf.ac.at/de/news-presse/news/nachricht/nid/20211007-2693